Circumstances
by kogas-mate
Summary: Hiei gets assigned to join the inu gumi and help them collect the shards. Will Hiei make friends? Or maybe something more? IYYYH
1. The mission

Hee hee, this is my second fic. Yes, yes it's another Kagome/Hiei pairing, I think. I'm planning on writing a kag/yus fic but.. I have no inspiration! WHERE IS MY MUSE? Alrighty then! ON WITH THE STORY!

Disclamier: I do not own inuyasha or yu yu hakusho

The mission

Ch.1

Spirit World

"Koenma sir, Hiei is here."

"Good, send him in"

A short demon with black spiky hair and a white bandana around his forehead stepped in. He crossed his arms and leaned against a wall, waiting for his 'boss' to assign him a job.

Koenma, the child-like ruler, was hidden behind stacks and stacks of papers. He looked up from his stamping and looked at Hiei. Grabbing a remote, a t.v. came down from the ceiling. "The Shikon no Tama." A picture of a pink jewel appeared. "I'm sure you know the legend of it?"

Hiei just nodded.

"As you know, legend said it was burned within the body of a priestess, kikyo after she died from getting attacked by a hanyou, and was never seen again. Well, over a year ago, there was a strange energy coming from a shrine. I had trackers go to get more info on the place." The prince of reikai (sp?) sighed and massaged his head. "Well, apparently, there is a young girl, Kagome Higurashi-" A picture of a smiling teenager in a green-sailor outfit appears. "- is the the reincarnation of Kikyo. She also has in possession of the jewel." He took a deep breath and continued. "With the shikon jewel, she was able to go through an old well at the shrine, and go back 500 years ago into the past. And things get worse, the shikon jewel is broken."

Hiei's eyes widened a little bit. "Who broke it." He commanded in a cool voice.

"The reincarnation herself had. I've had Botan bring her in once. So I've decided to send you to go help her and her friends collect the shikon jewel."

"Why not send Yusuke or the baka? Or even kurama?" Hiei said with a frown on his face.

"Because Yusuke and Kuwabara are still injured from their last mission, and won't heal in time. Kurama's mother is getting surgery done, and he can't afford to miss it. That just leaves you for the job."

After thinking about the advantages of going to the past (lots of demons to kill, koenma can't keep an eye on him, the baka couldn't annoy him… and so on), he agreed.

Focusing back on the paperwork in front of him, Koenma dismissed Hiei with a wave of a hand. "You can leave now. Botan will open a portal to the shrine."

As if on cue, the bubbly Lady Death appeared, oar in hand. "Let's go Hiei!" and with that, they both disappeared into a blue portal.

At the Higurashi Shrine

"I told you inuyasha! The prince of the spirit world said he was going to send one of his detectives to help us on our mission!" Kagome said, arms thrown up in expiration.

"We don't need any help!" Inuyasha said with his nose in the air.

Kagome's eye twitched. "Nor you or I have any say in it! So just behave! Or I'll use the 's' word!"

With his ears flattened against his head, inuyasha turned around and stayed silent.

Suddenly a portal opened up, and out popped Hiei and Botan.

Spotting her friend, she ran over and gave botan a hug. "How are you?" She asked.

"Well, work's been busy, so a little stressful! Which reminds me, back to business, this is Hiei. He'll be helping you complete the jewel!"

Hiei just glared at them.

Kagome, intending on ignoring that glare, held her hand out. "Nice to meet you! I'm Kagome Higurashi!"

As his response, he just jumped into the Goshiboku. Inuyasha on the other hand was suspiciously watching his every move.

Seeing kagome frown Botan added, "He's not the most talkative person you'll meet, but he's a good fighter!" she said with a grin on her face.

Kagome smiled slightly,"thanks, but I've gotten used to behavior like that," she said with a pointed stare at a certain inu hanyou.

"Well got to get back to work! I'll see you later!" and with that, the ferry girl was gone.

Turning back to the tree she frowned. "Ok, uh... um… Hiei, do you have a shard of the shikon jewel?"

Jumping out of the tree, and in front of her, he held up a shard.

"Hey where'd you get that!" Inuyasha yelled, teeth bared.

"Sit."

Hiei watched the hanyou fall to the ground with an amused smirk.

"Why you stupid wen-"

"SIT!"

Poor ground, so many inuyasha sized holes… tsk tsk tsk.

"So where's the well?" Hiei asked, getting straight to the point.

Facing Hiei she smiled, "oh, this way!"

Her yellow bag was already waiting for her inside.

Sitting at the rim she looked over at her companions. "Everyone ready to go?"

"Hn."

"Feh."

Taking that as a yes, she jumped inside the well, Hiei and Inuyasha followed behind.

She looked up and saw blue sky. Feudal Japan.

A head poked over the well. "Kagome?" a childish voice asked.

"Yeah Shippo, I'm down here. Can you tell Sango and Miroku I've brought a new friend?"

Shippo's green eye's sparkled. "Ok!" he said excitedly and ran off.

Using the vine, Kagome hauled her and her big backpack up the well.

As soon as she got out of the well, there were two flashes, and out came inuyasha and hiei.

Inuyasha was glaring down at hiei, Hiei glaring back.

"Let's go to the village at meet the others!" kagome said while reaching over to pick up her backpack.

Seeing her struggle, Inuyasha casually walked over and picked it up for her. And with a 'keh' he walked towards the village.

A small smile appeared on her face. _'Tsk, why couldn't he be more polite more often?'_ she mused to herself.

Turning around to Hiei, she attempted to start a conversation. "So what weapon do you use?"

He stared at his katana around his waste.

Kagome sweatdropped. _'Ok, stupid question.'_ "What kind of demon are you?" she asked innocently. "I sense your fire.. and ice youkai. Are you both?"

In a flash Hiei had his katana and Kagome's neck. Her eye's widened in surprise. _'EEP! Touchy subject…'_

Sheathing his katana, kagome collected herself. "I'm sorry if that was to personal." Biting her lip, she tried again, this time with more caution. "Do you have any siblings?"

Silence filled the air.

She frowned. _'Wow… botan wasn't kidding about him not being very talkative.'_

Soon after, they came to the village.

The villagers kept a wary eye on the new guest, but left them alone none the less.

When they finally came to Kaede's hut, the whole inu gumi was waiting for the arrival of their new teammate.


	2. Meetings

Disclamier: I do not own inuyasha or yu yu hakusho

Woo hoo! Another chapter up! Hope you guys enjoy!

Ch.2

Inhaling a lot of air, kagome got ready to introduce everyone. "Everyone this is hiei, he was sent by the ruler of the spirit world (enter confused looks) to help us with collecting the shards. Hiei, the one with the boomerang strapped to her back is Sango, the neko is Kirara, Miroku is the one with the staff, you've already met inuyasha, and the fox is my kit Shippo. Sango is a demon exterminator and Miroku is a monk." She gasped for air after saying that long introduction.

Everyone bowed and said their greetings.

Kaede interrupted. "Perhaps ye would like to continue inside?"

"That would be a good idea!" kagome said smiling.

Picking up Shippo, she led the way inside.

Once everyone was settled down, Inuyasha broke the silence. "So shorty, what can you do?" In an instant, Inuyasha had a katana by his throat.

"I'd be careful what you say hanyou" he said in a deadly tone.

Everyone in the room got on guard, Miroku held his staff, and Sango clutched her boomerang. Inuyasha growled, and put his hand on tetsaiga.

"Now, now! Settle down everyone! We're going to be working together, so at least try to get along." Kagome pleaded.

Reluctantly, Hiei put his katana away, and sat back down, glaring at anyone who dared to look at him.

Sighing, Kagome looked outside. The sun was starting to set. '_Is it that late already?'_ Shaking her head, she started taking about a big pot and lots of ramen packets. Grabbing a pot she got up. "I'm going to get some water for the ramen. Don't start any fights!" she said in a commanding tone while shaking her index finger.

Hiei just 'hned' and jumped into a tree, hidden by the shadows of the branches and leaves.

Inuyasha just sat back down, with his arms crossed. With a mischievous glint in his eye, Shippo transformed into a big pink blob and bit inuyasha in the head. Eye twitching, inuyasha swung a clawed hand at shippo, thus starting another fight.

Hiei watched from the tree in mild interest. _'Why do I always get teamed up with the idiots?' _

With Kagome

On her way walking to the river, kagome began to think about their new teammate. '_He seems kind of closed off from everyone. Kind of like how inuyasha used to be.' _Sighing, she realized she was in the clearing of the river. '_I should stop spacing out'_ She said with a shake of her head.

As she gathered some water in the pot, she stared at her own reflection in the water. Did she really look that much like Kikyo? She had to admit, they had some features that were the same, but they weren't identical.

She sighed heavily. She didn't really hate Kikyo, she actually felt sorry for her. Her life was cut short because of Naraku's evil schemes. She never got to live a full life.

Shaking her head to rid those thoughts, she stood up and made her way back towards the village. On her way back, she noticed a tree with beautiful red flowers blooming from it.

She walked closer and touched its trunk. A flower gracefully fluttered from the tree, into her hand. "Ah! A haruna…kirei.." she said as she smelled it and put it behind her hair.

Looking back at the vase, she quickly withdrew her hand and hurried back to kaede's hut.

Dinner went smoothly. Hiei rejected the ramen ("keh, more ramen for me") and stayed in his tree, and there were no more fights (other then the pranks Shippo played).

After cleaning up, she looked at the moon. '_It's getting late'_ she thought to herself. Rolling out her sleeping back, she tucked the half-asleep shippo in. "I'm not sleepy Kagome.." he said as he yawned. She smiled softly at him. "Good night sweetie."

As she left the room, she sat outside on the grass, staring at the stars. Bad mistake. In the distance she saw a glowing object. _'Soul catchers. Meaning Kikyo's nearby.' _She tilted her head towards inuyasha's direction to see if he had picked up on her scent. Sure enough, his nose was pointed towards the forest.

"I'm going for a walk." And with that, he disappeared into the forest.

Everyone in the room gave Kagome a sympathetic look. She faced them all with a cheery face. "I'm going to go for a walk too."

Getting up, she walked the opposite way inuyasha went.

She went down the same path to the river, and went to the Haruna tree. Lying down next to the tree with her head in her hands, she pondered her thoughts about inuyasha. _'Sure I like him, but he'll never return those feelings' _She lifted a hand to wipe away the tears that threatened to spill. '_But it still hurts when he sees her.'_

Hiei read her thoughts._ 'So she likes the hanyou. Hn.' _He had gotten curious to why she acted that way when inuyasha left. What puzzled him more was what he smelled from the direction inuyasha disappeared too. Dirt and ashes.

Jumping down in front of her, she gasped and rubbed the tears away quickly. She pushed herself up from the ground so she was standing.

With a hand scratching the back of her head nervously, she looked at him with a fake smile. "Ah, didn't hear you there. What brings you here?"

He gave her a look of indifference. "The exterminator was getting worried about you."

Her features softened. "Ok, can you tell her I'll be back in a little while?"

"Hn." As he was about to leave, he turned around and asked her a question. "Where did the hanyou go" he asked, keeping the curiosity out of his voice.

Her eyes flickered with sadness. But then she smiled. "Uh.. his old girlfriend, Kikyo."

He noted her reactions to his question. '_Kikyo? Isn't she dead?'_ His curiosity got the better of him. "Didn't she die?" he said in a monotone voice.

Her hands fidgeted nervously. "Yes, she did. I'm glad someone was paying attention to their history lessons!" she said while laughing softly. "She _did_ die, but someone brought her back to life. Now she's only a clay pot and lives off of woman's souls."

'_So both the hanyou and the dead priestess are from the legend.._' Letting the information soak in he left with a 'Hn'.

Settling down once more, kagome sat back down and took in the calmness she felt from the tree.

When she got back, Inuyasha was perched in a tree diagonal from the one Hiei was in. "Where'd you go wench?"

"I was taking a walk," she said coolly.

Frowning at her he continued. "Well, anyways, I've heard some rumors of the shikon jewel coming from the south… we'll head out next thing in the morning." With that he closed his eyes and tried to get to sleep.

Shaking her head, she went inside the hut. Sango was in one corner, petting kirara who was in her lap, and miroku was meditating in another. Shippo was still asleep in the sleeping bag.

"Sango, Miroku." They both looked up at her. "Inuyasha said there was a rumor from the south about the jewel. We'll be leaving in the morning."

Nodding Miroku went back to meditating. Sango kept staring at her. "Do you think he got the information from Kikyo?" she asked softly.

"Hm, probably." Walking over to the sleeping bag, kagome got in and cuddled Shippo.

"Hey guys, do you know anything about a Haruna tree around here?"

Opening his eyes, Miroku put his hand to his chin and started thinking. "I do believe there is a tragic story about a haruna tree. There was once a tree spirit who took form of a human. One day the tree spirit got attacked by a bear youkai, and right when the bear was going to slice her with it's claws, a young man saved her. She instantly fell in love with him, he with her. The tree spirit had a wonderful voice. So when they would meet up, the young man would play the violin while the tree spirit sang. But one day their happiness ended. He had to go away to fight in a war. He promised her that he would come back so they could make beautiful music together. So she waited and waited until one day she was re-absorbed by the haruna tree."

"Such a tragic story…"

"Indeed Lady Kagome. They say her spirit waits in the tree for her true love to come back to her."

Inuyasha's voice interrupted the serene moment. "Whatever monk! Go to sleep! We're going to leave early tomorrow!"

"I'll be turning in now. Good night."

"Night."

"Good night."

---

In the middle of the night, Kagome woke up. 'I have this strange feeling…' quietly getting up from the sleeping back, she tiptoed out of the room, hoping she wouldn't wake up anyone.

'Now to get past the guard dog…' Keeping an eye on inuyasha, she slowly walked past him, holding her breath. She watched as his doggy ears twitched and swiveled towards any sound being made.

When she was finally a safe distance away, she breathed in some much needed air.

She walked down the path that led to the river. Turning, the haruna tree came into view. The flowers seemed to glow in the moonlight, almost like fireflies.

Stepping closer towards the tree, she heard a soft violin playing. She gasped, covering her mouth. It was just like Miroku's story! Walking up to the tree, a young man came into view. He wore the same clothes the villagers did, and he had long black hair, pulled up in a ponytail.

He looked up and met her eyes and stopped playing. Giving her a gentle smile, he waved her over.

Kagome nervously walked over. Sitting down next to him, she relaxed. The musical notes soothed her soul. Out of no where she began singing.

"One soundless mid-day,

the wind was so cheerful.

Flower petals sway in the breeze

As if they were sleepy.

This serene feeling…

Tell me, what's the word people use for it?

Tell me a story that's locked away

In the white-sand moon.

Let me hear it

As gently as light shining down…

Will the time come? When you will know the pain in my heart?

Then you'd be able to be gentler than you are now.

Such a warm feeling…

Tell me, what' s the name that people give to it?

Softly, let me hear

Of the distant future,

So bright it can't be seen,

Like a white-sand moon"

She blinked. '_Where did that song come from?' _A bright light from behind her broke her from her thoughts. The tree pulsed with energy and glowed. Soon, a figure came out of the tree.

It was a beautiful woman with dark green hair, and large brown eyes. She wore a nice white kimono with red haruna flowers on it.

The young man and the woman embraced. Turning around, the woman faced Kagome. "Dear child, your beautiful voice has freed me from the tree. I will grant you one wish that you desire."

Poor kagome was stupefied. Her eyes were bulging out of her head, and her mouth was wide open. '_AIE YA?! THE STORY WAS REAAAAAAAAAAAAAAL?!'_

The woman (now identified as the tree spirit) giggled. "So, what is your wish?"

Kagome came out of her stupor and thought for a moment. Memories of how Inuyasha called her weak, and had to save her on numerous occasions. Balling her fists she said, "I wish to become stronger."

Nodding, the tree spirit threw petals over kagome's head. "You now have the spirits of a panther and wolf. You will have the agility of a cat and the strength of a wolf. Use your new body well."

When the petals touched kagome, her body started to glow.

And with that, the couple turned into spirits and flew towards the moon. Unknown to kagome, a little fire demon had followed her and seen the whole thing.

Nya, the song was 'hiru no tsuki'. The 1st ending theme song for Outlaw star, translated into English. And haruna means camellia (a type of flower yes?). I think.


	3. Trust?

'Thoughts'

-P.o.v.'s-

--- Scene changing

Dreams

Disclamier: I do not own inuyasha or yu yu hakusho

Ch.3

-Kagome's P.O.V.-

When the petals were thrown, a gray/silver wolf and a Black Panther jumped into her body. As they entered her body, she started glowing. She faintly heard the tree spirits last words in her head, _'You now have the spirits of a panther and wolf. You will have the agility of a panther and the strength of a wolf. Use your new abilities well',_ before her vision went black.

-Normal P.O.V.-

Hopping down from his hiding spot, Hiei observed the girl in front of him. _'So some stupid story the monk told, was actually true?'_ Snorting to himself, he looked at her face. '_Hn. She still looks normal…'_ Jumping into a tree, he laid back and waited until she woke up.

Next morning

New scents assaulted her nose. Waking up, Kagome realized she was still in the forest. Hearing something moving, she looked up in the trees. In a flash, Hiei stood in front of her. "Ah, good morning" she said awkwardly.

"Hn."

She rubbed her head uncomfortably. "So, uh, what brings you here?"

He just stared at her. "What? Do I have something on my face?" Reaching up to touch her face, she saw her hands. She had claws! Her eyes bulged out of her head.

Quickly running to the river, she stared at her reflection and gasped. Her eyes were more narrow (cat-like) and made her look more feminine, her hair was still black, but had a silver-ish blue tint to it, fangs poked out of her mouth, and as she already found out, she has claws. But that wasn't the best part. She had doggy ears!

They were black, like her hair, and had the same colored tint to it. They were a crossover between wolf and panther ears, so they were narrower and long compared to inuyasha's ears.

Hiei observed her from a tree. '_Hn, she looks like a demon now.'_

Her eyes suddenly widened. "YA! What am I going to do?! I can't let inuyasha see me like this! What will the others think?!" She started ranting and pacing in a circle until she slipped and fell into the river.

"C-COLD!" shivering, she jumped out of the river. Her bangs were covering her eyes and her clothes hung to her. Her ears were flat against her head. She looked like a wet cat. Hiei just smirked.

"Nyaaaaaaah!" she gave a deep sigh. Brushing the hair out of her eyes, she looked up at Hiei. "Ano, how long were you in the trees?"

"Long enough."

Giving him the puppy eyes she said, "you won't tell them what happened right?"

He looked away. Taking off his cloak, he threw it at her. "Here, wear this."

She caught it with a clawed hand and smiled gratefully at him. "Thank you." Putting it on, she started contemplating what she was going to tell everyone. 'Great… what to do what to do… I know! Maybe if I think about turning back into a human I will! It's worth a try!"

Closing her yes, she pictured herself normal looking. Opening her eyes, she saw she didn't have any claws. Reaching into her mouth, she found her fangs were gone too. Walking back over to the river, she saw she looked normal again, except her eyes kept their shape, and her hair stayed the same color.

Shrugging, she turned to Hiei again. "You never did answer me earlier. Will you keep this a secret? At least from Inuyasha? Pleeeeeease?!"

"Hn. Like I'd talk to the hanyou." And in a blur he jumped from tree to tree back to the village.

Sighing with relief, she started walking back. She flexed her arm muscles. They seemed bigger, along with her legs. Her body was now leaner and slightly more muscular.

Wondering if she still had the abilities of the spirits while she looked like a human, Kagome did a front flip. She landed perfectly on her feet. Smiling, she tried some other things. She bounced off tree trunks till she got to the top of a tree. She breathed in the fresh air. From her viewpoint, she could see all of the inuyasha forest and more.

Jumping down from the tree, she landed softly on her feet, after all cats always land on their feet right? Satisfied with what the panther spirit gave her, she tried testing her powers the wolf spirit gave her.

Getting into running position, she took off, and in a flash she was at the edge of the village. Humming a happy tune, she entered the village with a big grin plastered on her face.

Her smile faded when she came face to face with an angry inu hanyou. "Where were you?!"

"I was at the river, washing my face" she replied casually.

He sniffed her. "Why do you smell like shorty over there?"

She looked down at what she was wearing. "I fell in the river, and Hiei was nice enough to lend me his clothes." Turning away from him, she went inside the hut.

Miroku and Sango were already awake, and cooking breakfast. Hearing the previous conversation, they didn't pester her with questions.

"Good morning minna san."

"Good morning Kagome/ Lady kagome." They answered in unison.

Opening the flap, Shippo came bounding into Kagome's arms. "Okaasan, why do you smell like that guy?" he asked pointing to Hiei, who was ignoring everyone in a tree.

"Because I fell into the river, and he lent me his clothes."

He blinked at her. "Oh, okay. Inuyasha was furious when he found you missing."

She rolled her eyes. "I know, but I told him where I went. So he should be fine now." Looking outside, she saw kirara walking around. "I'm going to go change, so go play with Kirara okay?"

"Ok!" and he hopped out of her arms and jumped outside.

Going into the next room she changed. She came out wearing jeans and a black tank top. By the time she got out, breakfast was ready. Everyone was inside eating the stew, including Hiei.

Breakfast went silent. Except for Inuyasha and Shippo's bickering. They fought over the last piece of meat.

Gathering all the bowls, Sango helped Kagome. Walking over to the river, she began to talk. "So did anything happen this morning?"

Kagome looked over at her best friend. She could trust Sango of all people. She was just worried about how Inuyasha would react. "Not really. But last night… something weird happened."

Sango gave kagome her full attention.

"You know the story Miroku told us right? About the tree? Well, it was true! And her spirit gave me a wish. So now I have the abilities of a wolf and panther inside me."

Kagome let sango digest all the information. After a few moments of blank stares, she talked. "Well now, that sure is interesting."

"Yeah, wanna see what I look like?"

"sure!"

Focusing, her claws and fangs grew. And her ears popped out of her head.

Sango gasped. "Kagome you look… fantastic!"

Kagome gave Sango a tooth grin. "I know! But I kinda wish I had a tail…" she said sadly. "Don't tell anyone okay? Especially Inuyasha!"

"But of course!"

Giggling, they grabbed the bowls and headed back towards camp. They stopped giggling when they ran into miroku. Kagome, still in her demon form, panicked. "Ah, Hello ladies."

Looking at kagome, he rose an eyebrow. "Lady Kagome, when did this happen?"

"Your not surprised?"

He shrugged. "Last night I felt a burst of energy, and figured it had to do with the story."

She relaxed. "Oh okay, and of course you know not to tell inuyasha right?"

He nodded. "What's so bad about inuyasha knowing?"

"Besides all the ranting he'll do? Well, it's going to be a surprise for him. I'll show him what I can really do now," she said with an evil grin.

Turning back into a human, she smiled. "Let's head on back now."

After putting everything away, Kagome looked at the folded cloak. Walking to the tree she sensed Hiei in, she started talking. "Thanks for letting me borrow your cloak. Would you like me to wash it or anything?"

He jumped down. "It's okay." He grabbed the cloak and put it back on. Before he could jump back into the tree, Kagome called out to him. "Hiei?"

He turned and looked at her. She smiled sheepishly. "Would you mind helping me with my new body. I mean I'm not used to the claws and everything. That is, if it wouldn't be too much trouble."

He thought for a minute. "Fine."

She smiled and hugged him. "THANK YOU!" waving a hand, she ran back to the hut. A slight blush was on Hiei's cheeks. "Hn." Jumping back into the shadows, he thought about what he was going to teach her.

Kagome lifted her yellow backpack. It wasn't as heavy anymore! Stepping outside, she saw inuyasha with his arms crossed, impatiently tapping his food. "Come on! We don't have all day!"

Sango came out with her boomerang on her back, Miroku with his staff. Kirara jumped into Sango's arms, and Shippo did the same with Kagome. Hiei stayed in the trees.

"Okay! Let's go!" inuyasha barked out.

They walked for hours straight, with no rests in between. Everyone was growing tired. Everyone, excluding Hiei and Inuyasha.

"Inuyasha"

His ears turned, showing he was listening. "Don't you think we can take a break? It's already past noon, and we've been walking for forever!"

He turned around abruptly. "No way wench! We need to get those shards! It's not my fault you humans are weak!"

"SIT BOY!"

BAM! Into the ground he went.

Everyone put down their stuff and relaxed. Digging through her backpack, Kagome pulled out candy bars. She handed one out to everyone. Walking over to a tree, she laid down against the truck. "Hiei? Would you like a candy bar?" she asked as she held out the candy.

It quickly disappeared. "Hn."

She smiled to her self. He was becoming a little more social each day. She patted the ground next to her. "Why don't you come down here and sit with me?"

There were a few moments of silence before he jumped down. He cautiously sat down next to her.

They both enjoyed the summer breeze that blew across their faces.

"So why did you become a spirit detective?"

Silence. "Probation."

She rose an eyebrow. "What did you do?"

He didn't look at her. "I kill numerous of innocent people."

"Oh…" she said while looking at him out of the corner of her eye. "Why did you do this mission? To escape the watchful eyes of the spirit prince?" she laughed lightly. Looking at his face, she guessed right. "It's alright. I come here to escape too. But from different things then yours."

He looked at her curiously. She was… different. It was amazing how she could stand the inu hanyou.

"So when are we going to start training?"

"Hn. Tonight."

She clapped her hands together. "Ok! This is going to be fun!"

He rolled his eyes. She sure was different alright.


	4. Training

Disclamier: I don't own Inuyasha or Yu Yu Hakusho

Ano.. can someone tell me how to spell tetsaiga? I'm pretty sure I'm spelling it wrong..

Ch.4

After their short little break, the continued walking until they reached a small forest. A villager had said a snake youkai had eaten several of the villagers and lives in the forest.

The forest was dark and quiet. Suddenly sensing a shikon shard, Kagome called out, "Up there! It's in the tree tops!"

Suddenly, a huge yellow and green snake fell from some tree branches and attacked. "Give me the shikon shards you possess!" It hissed. Kagome, using her new reflexes, quickly jumped out of the way with Shippo in her arms. The only ones who were surprised in her new speed were Inuyasha and Shippo.

Kagome clutched Shippo to her chest as she yelled, "the shard is in its mouth!"

"Keh, this will be easy!" Right as he was about to swing his transformed tetsaiga, a black blur appeared before the snake.

Flashes of metal could be seen. A few seconds later, Hiei appeared and sheathed his katana as the snake fell to pieces.

Everyone was shocked at how fast he moved. They only saw him as a blur.

Putting Shippo down, kagome walked over to the corpse and picked up the shard. As soon as she touched it, it was instantly purified.

"Good job Hiei!" she said with a cheery smile on her face. Hiei just 'hned' while inuyasha 'fehed'.

"That was amazing! I didn't even see you move!" Exclaimed sango.

"Yeah! It was really cool! Can you teach met to be fast like you? And maybe-" Shippo's sentence was cut off by Kagome's hand.

"Now now , Shippo, only one question at a time!"

"Okay okaasan!" Shippo jumped on Hiei's shoulder and started asking him many questions. Hiei either replied with very few words or didn't answer.

"Your probably annoying him runt!" scoffed Inuyasah.

"Shut up inubaka!" Shippo said as he jumped off Hiei's shoulder. He ran to Inuyasha and bit his leg before he ran into Kagome's arms for protection.

"Ow you stupid runt! Come here!"

"SIT BOY!" kagome yelled as Inuyasha fell to the ground. "You won't hurt Shippo!"

Inuyasha lifted his head from the ground. "What was that for you stupid wench?!"

"SIT!" Kagome screamed before walking off.

Hiei silently followed her with an amused smirk on his face.

Miroku and Sango just shook their heads. "Inuyasha, you really must treat Kagome better." Miroku commented.

"For once, I agree with the Miroku. You should try calling her by her name more often!"

Inuyasha pouted from his spot on the ground. "Shut up! No one asked you!"

Miroku just hook his head before walking the direction Kagome was heading. Sango and Kirara followed behind.

Picking himself off the ground, Inuyasha slowly walked back to everyone while grumbling to himself.

For the night, they stayed at the lord of the village's mansion as a show of gratitude for killing the demon. For dinner, they had a feast.

The guys and girls slept in different rooms, just down the hall from each other.

That night, Hiei silently slipped out of the boys' room and into Sango's and Kagome's. He swiftly jumped over to where Kagome was sleeping.

Using the sheath of his katana, he poked her. She moaned and rolled over in her sleeping bag with Shippo in her arms. "Kagome." He said quietly, yet sternly. She just buried farther into her sleeping back.

Annoyed, he let out a low growl. He softly took Shippo out of her arms and set placed him on the other side of the sleeping bag. Carefully picking kagome up, he jumped out of the room and slid the door closed.

Walking to the edge of the pond in the court yard, he dropped her in.

_SPLASH!_ Kagome instantly sat up sputtering water. Her hair was stuck to her face, and she had lily pads and other assortment of plants on her.

Huffing, she moved her hair out of the way and looked for the culprit. Her eyes landed on Hiei, who was standing 2 feet away from her with his arms crossed and a satisfied smirk on his face. She gave him a death glare, which didn't seem to affect him at all.

She got out of the water and shook herself. She wrung out as much water ash she could out of her clothes. That's when she noticed her white top, was totally see-through thanks to th water.

"EEP!" Blushing, she quickly turned around and crossed her arms. She glared at Hiei over her shoulder. "Did you have to get me wet?"

He gave her a bored look. "You weren't waking up."

"And this is the only way you thought would wake me up?!" she yelled. She instantly covered her mouth, realizing how late it was and where they were.

She looked up at the moon. It was probably past midnight. "So why are we out here so late?"

Hiei resisted the urge to roll his eyes. This girl was a little ditsy. "Training." He said in monotone.

She clapped her hands together. "Oh yeah!" With her arms glued to her chest, she turned around to face him. "Well I need to change now thanks to you!"

Hiei threw her his cloak.

Kagome sighed. "How do I always end up wearing your clothes?" Turning around so her back was facing him, she quickly slid the cloak over her soaked body. Inside the cloak, she took off her shirt. Pulling it from the neck of the cloak, she wrung it out and set it on the grass to dry.

She turned around with her arms crossed. "Okay, so what are you going to teach me first?" she asked.

"First let's see what you can do. Run as fast as you can to the other end of the courtyard." He instructed.

She nodded. Closing her eyes, she focused. When she opened her eyes, she was in her other form.

Inhaling breath, Kagome bent her knees and ran as fast as she could to the other side. When she got there. She was surprised at how fast she moved. She ran back to Hiei and looked at him curiously.

"So how fast was I?"

"As fast as the hanyou."

She smiled. So she could keep up with Inuyasha huh? This might turn out to be fun!

"Next, let's test your strength." He lifted his palm. "Punch my hand as hard as you can."

She rose an eyebrow. He stared back with his palm held out. She sighed. Bringing her arm back, she thought about how inuyasha still loved kikyo. Anger flared in her eyes as she punched his hand with as much strength as she could muster at the moment. Caught up in her emotions, she accidentally used her miko powers, thus burning Hiei's hand.

Hiei just winced a little pit. He looked at his burnt hand.

Kagome looked at him apologetically. "Gomen! I didn't mean to! Here give me your hand!"

He lifted it to her, just as she said. She grabbed it lightly, and put her other hand carefully on the burn. Concentrating, her hand glowed pink, and his hand was healed.

Opening her eyes, she saw his hand in perfect condition. "Yay! I did it!"

Hiei withdrew his hand from hers and just stared at her. "You fully control your powers." He stated.

She blinked. Smiling awkwardly she nodded. "Yeah, but I'm getting the hang of it!"

"You are pretty strong. But we'll still need to built up your strength." He paused. "Do you know how to fight?"

"I can shoot arrows, and that's about it."

Coming to a silent decision, Hiei spoke. "I will teach you how to fight so you can protect yourself. The hanyou is only useful for so much."

Kagome frowned. She didn't like it how he kept insulting Inuyasha. "Hey! Inuyasha can do more than fight you know!" She then softly smiled. "But thank you for teaching me stuff!"

'_Mood swings.'_ Hiei thought to himself. He threw his katana to the side and looked at Kagome. "Can you at least punch someone?"

Blushing Kagome nodded. "Iie, I've never been taught any martial arts…"

Hiei internally sighed. He sure had his work cut out for him. "First I'll teach you stances. Just watch and copy what I do."

"Ok!" Kagome's eyes straightened with determination. _'I'll show Inuyasha I can protect myself!'_

-Aie ya. I know it's a really really short chapter but whatever. I promise to make the other ones lengthier.. I'm stressed out from homework. But when I go on winter break I'll be sure to post a lot of chapters!


	5. Training cont

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or Yu Yu Hakusho.

Sry for not updating! I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Ch.5

It had been a two weeks since that one night. Now each night, they would train until dawn. Hiei had taught her the basics. Kagome was a very fast learner, and she had already learned the basics to blocking, punching, and kicking.

It was a sunny day, and they were currently miles away from Kaede's village. Hiei had finally decided to move her up to sparing.

They were both sweating. Hiei was wearing just his pants and shoes, while Kagome was in a light blue tank top and dark blue running shorts. Her hair was tied back in a high ponytail.

Kagome was the first to move. She ran straight at him and jump kicked. Hiei quickly dodged it and countered with a punch towards the face. She barely blocked it with her hand, and retaliated by kicking towards his groin.

Hiei was able to read her every move. She was too predictable. He easily dodged her kicks and punches. But she was doing well for a beginner. Maybe it was her motivation that kept her going.

As he had suspected, Kagome had really strong miko powers. One day he had tried to use his jagan to peer into her mind, but there was a strong barrier keeping him out. He had slowly come to respect her. She had a fighting spirit and courage.

Over the past few weeks that he had been with the inu-gumi, he had noticed that Kagome started slowly maturing. And boy did he notice.

A punch was coming at his stomach, and he easily dodged it and tripped her. She quickly rolled back on her feet, and tried to swipe his feet from under him with a kick. From his point of view, he got a good look at her cleavage.

That small pause gave Kagome an opening, which she gladly took. She smirked before she quickly sprung up from the ground and kicked his chin.

Hiei was taken by surprise and was kicked backwards. He carefully flipped around and pushed off the ground towards Kagome.

She was too slow to block Hiei, as he tackled her to the ground.

They rolled around the grass a bit, as Kagome tried in vain to kick him off her. There was growling and snarls from the pair.

Panting, Kagome finally sighed in defeat beneath Hiei. She was hot, sweaty, and tired. But she didn't really mind the position she was in… _'Bad kagome bad! What about Inuyasha?'_

She frowned. Lately her eyes have been watching a certain crimson-eyed youkai. '_What is Inuyasha to me? I mean even though he's selfish and a jerk, he could be kind and caring. Do I maybe… love him?'_ she blushed at that thought. _'No, he loves kikyo…_' she thought sadly.

Liquid fell on her face, disrupting her small conversation with herself. Then she realized what fell on her face. Hiei's sweat. She scrunched up her nose. "Ok then! Can we take a break? We're both sweating like crazy and I'm a little sore."

Hiei nodded and gracefully hopped off her. He grabbed his katana and walked into the forest.

Kagome got up from her position on the grass and wiped the sweat from her brow. She looked towards the direction Hiei went and smiled softly. Lately, she felt that Hiei and her were becoming close. At least she, out of the whole group, could understand him, if only a little bit.

She bit her lip and thought about their first conversation. A little while back, she asked Kaede what type of demon an ice and fire youkai was. That's when she learned he was a forbidden child. She really regretted confronting him about it. She hoped he would forgive her for talking about that.

Sighing, she headed towards the direction Hiei went. She was planning to go swimming in a lake she smelled not to far from where they camped.

After she had changed into her bathing suit with a t-shirt and shorts over it, she grabbed two towels. One for her, and one for Hiei.

As she walked into the forest, out of the corner of her eye, she saw flashes of metal. Her cattish nature implored her to go satisfy her curiosity. So she did.

Leaping into a tree, she jumped silently from branch to branch. In a small clearing of trees, she saw Hiei practicing with his katana.

Drool nearly came out of her mouth as she watched him. His sweat on his body made him shine in the sunlight. Her eyes went over his nice toned muscles, and watched as the sweat dripped down his chest.

She blushed as she realized what she was doing. '_Must… stop… staring…!'_ she demanded to herself, but couldn't tear her eyes away from him.

She silently thanked kami that Kaede had taught her how to hide her scent. The first week, she started getting used to her animal form. She learned all new smells. She could identify anger, fear, nervousness, happiness, and many more. The two that made her blush the most was arousal. She learned that smell from when Miroku was peeping at Sango and her while they were taking a bath one night.

Hiei knew she was there. He could feel her presence. He could also feel her stare at his body. He smirked cockily.

Just as he was about to scare her, she suddenly disappeared. He would have to congratulate her later on her stealth. Focusing back on his katana, he continued practicing attacks.

While Kagome was admiring over the eye-candy (Hiei), she felt shikon shards coming towards the village, fast. She rolled her eyes. Koga was coming.

She left just as silently as she had come. Inuyasha was already alert and waiting. "I smell wolf." He spat out with disgust clearly written all over his face.

Soon, a familiar whirlwind of dust appeared in front of kagome. Right as Koga was about to take Kagome's hands, he was stopped by a katana on his throat.

He stayed still so the blade wouldn't cut his throat. He observed his opponent. _'Who is this short guy that thinks he can keep me away from my future mate?!'_ he silently fumed. Using the shikon shards, he tried to run around him, but was stopped by the same youkai again.

Koga snarled. "Who the heck are you? And how do you know my mate?!"

"She's/ I'm not your mate!" Inuyasha and Kagome screamed in unison.

Hiei just rose an eyebrow. "She is unmarked, meaning she is not your mate."

Growling, Koga attacked. Hiei easily dodged it. Before a fight could get started Kagome screamed. "STOP IT!"

Both youkai came to a halt.

Kagome smiled. "Well, I believe some introductions are in order! Koga, meet Hiei, he's going to help us find the shikon no tama shards. Hiei, meet Koga, a friend and ally."

"Feh, what do you want mangy wolf?" Inuyasha asked, finally getting a chance to talk.

"I'm just checking up on my woman, seeing as she's in your protection. " Koga replied with a smirk.

Inuyasha fumed. He put his hand on the handle of the tetsaiga. "What did you say?"

"You heard me! Now I must be off." He held Kagome's hand again, earning growls from Inuyasha and Hiei. "I'm sorry my visit is so short, but I guess I'll have to trust the insolent puppy to watch over you. Good bye love." And with that he disappeared with a whirl of dust trailing behind him, and a grumpy inu hanyou.

Kagome rolled her eyes. Stupid canine breed and their possessiveness. She wasn't some stupid item.

Hiei narrowed his eyes at the direction the wolf went. How dare he call Kagome his when she was unmarked? He shook away those thoughts. He couldn't possibly care for her could he? She was obviously in love with the hanyou anyways.

His thoughts were broken when a towel appeared on his shoulders. Kagome smiled behind him. "I meant to give you this."

"Thanks." He muttered so softly that even Kagome, with her enhanced hearing, missed it.

She smiled softly before turning around towards Inuyasha. "Why do you guys always have to fight?"

"Because he's a baka wolf! Heh, but he always ends up running away" said inuyasha with a smirk on his face.

Kagome just ignored him and started walking back towards the forest.

"Hey wench, where are you going?" Inuyasha called after her.

Sango nodded disapprovingly. "Inuyasha! Treat Kagome with more respect and call her by her name!"

Inuyasha just grunted.

"I'm going to go swimming, is that alright with you your Royal Highness?" Kagome asked with sarcasm in her voice.

Inuyasha 'fehed'. "Fine, whatever." And he jumped into a tree to keep an eye on everyone.

Sighing, Kagome continued walking. Soon she saw Hiei up above her. "Would you like to come?" she asked him.

Hiei just 'hned'. Taking that as a yes, she kept walking.

Soon they entered a clearing. It was nice and peaceful. There was a huge lake, with many trees surrounding it. Flowers and wild grass grew along the edges, giving it a serene look.

Kagome breathed in the fresh air. In the blink of an eye, she was in her animal form. Her ears twitched as Hiei hopped from the trees to join her.

She took of her clothes revealing a dark blue bikini. The suit complemented her curves, reminding Hiei once again, that she was blooming into a beautiful young lady.

Walking towards the edge of the lake, she looked at Hiei. "Coming?"

He just leaned against a tree. She rose an eyebrow. "Oh, I get it, you can't swim can you? Or maybe you're just scared of water?"

Hiei glared at her. "Hn. Taunting me won't work."

Kagome frowned. "Come on, lay back and have some fun!"

Rolling his eyes, he just laid against a trunk of a tree with his arms crossed.

As quickly as she could, she ran over to him in a flash and pulled him into the lake with her. They both fell in with a big splash.

When Hiei came up, his long hair was in his face, and he did not look happy. Kagome just giggled and swam back underwater. Just as she was about to swim deeper, someone pulled her leg.

Hands grabbed her sides as she was suddenly launched into the air. Her eyes widened as she did a belly flop back into the water. Coming up, she sputtered water and glared at Hiei who was smirking, amusement dancing in his eyes.

She rubbed her probably red back. Belly flops really hurt. In retaliation, she splashed him with water.

Annoyed, he splashed her back. Soon it was an all out war. Kagome swam underwater and pulled on his leg to drag him down. When she succeeded, she tackled him, knocking the air out of him.

Reaching the ground, he kicked off and swam straight at Kagome. She tried to punch him underwater, but missed and he caught her wrist and got her in a headlock.

She struggled, but to no avail. Making noises, she was hoping he would get the point that she needed air. Understanding, he let her go as she swam to the surface.

Breathing in much needed air, she held her chest. Her heart was beating fast. She seriously thought she was going to drown. Soon Hiei popped out of the water.

Swimming over to him, she dunked his head under water. He just ticked her sides until she let go. Laughing hysterically, she failed to notice the sea serpent trailing behind her.

Right as it bit her in the thigh, she sliced it with her claws. Blood seeped from the wound and mixed in with the water. Knowing it would attract other creatures in the water, Kagome quickly swam to shore.

Hiei had smelt and seen the blood and quickly followed. As they reached land, he picked her up bridal style and set her down on the towels. He inspected her bite. IT was right on the under side of her thigh. Hiei let out a sigh of relief. It didn't look like it was poisoned. "Your all right. I don't think you were poisoned."

Kagome sighed. "That's good." Getting up, her right leg buckled underneath her. Hiei quickly caught her before she hit the ground. She smiled gratefully at him.

"What's wrong." He asked in monotone.

She scratched her head. "I think the bite numbed my leg."

He nodded and set her down on the ground. He picked up the towels and her clothing before he picked her up again. Carrying her bridal style, he went back to camp.

Sango and Miroku rushed to her when they saw her in Hiei's arms. "Kagome, what happened?"

"Are you ok?" Miroku asked.

Kagome just swatted away all questions. "I'm fine, just my right leg is numb."

Jumping to kaede's hut, Hiei set her down gently on the ground. She kissed his cheek. "Thank you Hiei."

He nodded slightly and disappeared back into the forest.

Changing into dry clothes, Kagome turned back into her human form and curled into a ball. It was time for a nice catnap.

---

Later that night, Kagome saw Inuyasha walking around restlessly. "What's wrong inuyasha?" she asked in concern.

He stopped walking and looked towards the moon. "It's a full moon. Meaning I'm going to turn human tonight."

Kagome nodded her head in understanding. This was the one night Inuyasha hated the most.

"I'm going to go sleep in the forest."

"Why?"

"Because, I don't want to let shorty see me."

Kagome rose an eyebrow. "I doubt Hiei could really care…"

Inuyasha glared at her. "Well I don't want some stranger knowing my weakness!"

"But if you go into the forest Naraku's attachments could find you! Trust me, Hiei wouldn't use a weakness against you. It's against his honor."

Inuyasha pouted and crossed his arms. "Since when do you know so much about him?" he asked, jealously seeping into his voice.

Kagome smiled softly. "We've became friends over the past 2 weeks. Aw come on inuyasha, just trust me ok?" She tugged lightly on his hair.

He gave a slight smile. "Whatever. Go to bed, it's late."

She pecked him softly on the cheek. "Good night."

Inuyasha blushed slightly as he watched her walk away. He sighed loudly. He treasured these tender moments with Kagome, but he knew that in the future he's going to end up breaking her heart.

Hiei watched the little scene that went on between Inuyasha and Kagome with mild curiosity. '_Hn. So he turns human on a full moon.'_ He was a bit jealous when Kagome kissed him on the cheek. He brushed that feeling off. '_Humans and their emotions.'_

Reaching into a pocket, he pulled out a stone. He had found it at the bottom of the lake. It was a dark blue mixed in with a lighter blue. It had reminded him of Kagome's eyes.

He jumped down in front of Kagome and scared her. She jumped back with a yelp. She was so caught up in her thoughts of Inuyasha, that she didn't sense him. "Oh, good evening Hiei. What brings you here?"

Hiei grabbed her hand and dropped the stone. She looked at it in awe. "It's beautiful…," she said as she gazed at it. The moonlight hit it, so it almost seemed transparent in some places.

"I found it in the lake." He said not looking at her face.

Smiling, she hugged him, startling him a bit. "Thanks Hiei", she murmured in his ear. Letting go, she waved to him. "Good night."

He watched her go with an emotionless mask on his face. He was thankful it was nighttime, for his cheeks were tinted pink.

---

A figure snuck out of the hut in the middle of the night. Walking to an open space in the forest, it waited. Soon another figure came. They embraced.

"We're going to have to tell them soon." A female voice whispered.

Brown eyes filled with sadness. "I know Sango, I just don't want to hurt Kagome."

Sango hugged Inuyasha tighter. "I don't either. But we better tell her now before she finds out some other way."

The two lovers shared a kiss, while enjoying the presence of the other.

Little did they know, red eyes were watching them through a mirror.

Naraku brushed a hand through his long black/purple hair. "Well this is interesting. I could certainly use this to my advantage…" He smirked evilly as the image on the mirror changed to show a slumbering Kagome. "I'll get what I want soon enough."

Okay, this was a long chapter right? I'm not quite sure if I got Inuyasha's eye color right. What color are his eyes when he turns human? Sorry about the scatter ness in the story. That's just how my brain is. Pleeze R&R!


	6. Going home

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or Yu Yu Hakusho

Sorry for the late update!

Ch.6

Kagome was in a very happy mood. Things were ok with Inuyasha and Hiei. She reached into her pocket and fingered the stone Hiei had given her the previous night.

She was utterly confused with her feelings. Lately, her eyes have been directed at Hiei. A few times he had even caught her looking at him, causing her to blush 5 shades of red.

But what about Inuyasha? He was the first guy to catch her attention. And they had been though so much together. She shook her head to rid of those thoughts.

Today she was going to ask Inuyasha if she could go home. She had been in the feudal era for over 2 weeks! She really needed to go home and go to school. '_Ugh, I totally forgot about homework.'_

Walking towards the Goshinboku, she spotted him sleeping. She made more noise as she walked towards him, so he could hear her. His ear swiveled in her direction as he opened an eye to look at her. "What do you want?"

She smiled sweetly. "Inuyasha, I would like to-"

"No." he said quickly cutting her off. "We need to collect shards."

Kagome frowned. "But I haven't been home in days! Plus, we're running out of ramen."

He closed his eye, silently contemplating the situation. "Ok, fine. But only 3 days."

Her eyes widened in surprise. Today he was awfully easy to convince. Plus he gave her one more day than usual. "Are you feeling ok Inuyasha?"

Inuyasha growled. "What do you mean by that?"

"Nothing. Never mind. But thanks!"

He watched her walk away. He closed his eyes and tried to continue his nap. '_I'll tell her soon…' _he whispered in his head.

---

Kagome whistled happily as she entered kaede's hut. Sango looked at her with a smile on her face. "Something good happen to you Kagome?"

She nodded. "I'm going home today for 3 days!"

Sango looked surprised. "Inuyasha is letting you go?"

"Yep! Amazing huh?"

"That's so unlike Inuyasha. Maybe he's turning more mature." Shippo commented

"Hm, yeah!" Kagome giggled at the thought of Inuyasha becoming maturer.

"Kagome, will you bring me back some candy?"

She patted his head. "Of course, you've been very good lately. Just don't bug Inuyasha while I'm gone ok?"

He nodded enthusiastically. He didn't want to risk a chance of not getting any candy.

Looking around, Kagome noticed a certain monk was missing. "Where's Miroku?"

"Visiting some woman in the village." Sango replied nonchalantly.

Kagome's eye brows furrowed together. Usually she would explode at Miroku's lecherous behavior. But her only reply sounded like she didn't even care. Ok, now she was confused. "Tell me Sango, who do you like?"

She stared at Kagome. "Where did that come from?" she asked nervously. '_She didn't see Inuyasha and I together last night did she?'_

"Oh I was just wondering why you weren't bothered by Miroku's disappearance. I thought you liked him."

Sango sighed in relief. "Kami no! Like I would ever like that hentai!"

"Whatever. I guess my assumptions were totally wrong." Shrugging she grabbed her bag and slung it over her shoulder. "I'm going to find Hiei. See you guys in a few days!"

They waved as she walked off.

Following where she sensed and smelt Hiei, she spotted him in a tree resting. He was wearing a black tank top with ripped edges that showed off his well-sculpted biceps. His hands were acting as a pillow for his head.

He looked so peaceful and serene. Quietly pulling out a camera from her bag, she snapped a picture of him. She giggled to herself, happy she got a once in a life time picture of him.

Hiei woke from his little nap by a flash. Opening his eyes, he saw Kagome giggling below him with a camera in her hand.

Noticing he was awake, she smiled apologetically at him. "Sorry! I just couldn't resist! I'm going back home today for 3 days. Do you want to come?"

He nodded. After he collected his stuff, he jumped down next to her.

"Alright, lets go!"

As they made their way to the well, they ran into a happy looking Miroku. "Hello, going home?" he asked referring to her bag.

"Yep. I'll be back in a few days."

Miroku smiled happily. "You better, or else you'll miss the wedding ceremony!"

Kagome's eyes widened as she gasped. "No way! To who?"

"You know Takashi's daughter, Mei? Well, she's agreed to bare my child! But not before we are properly wed to each other."

Squealing, she hugged Miroku, who hugged her back without groping her for once.

"Congratulations!" she said as she released him.

"Thank you Kagome."

Kagome elbowed Hiei. "Be polite and say something."

Hiei just glared at her. Rolling her eyes, she sighed. '_Stubborn youkai…_' "Hiei congratulates you silently."

"Well, I better go tell everyone else the good news! See you soon!" and he left with the jingling sound of his staff echoing around him.

Kagome looked at Hiei. "Who would have thought that Miroku would actually find someone?"

"Hn."

"Well, he deserves it."

When they reached the well, Inuyasha was already gone from the tree.

Standing on the lip of the well, she held out her hand. Grunting, Hiei reluctantly took it. She squeezed his hand as they jumped in.

A familiar blue light surrounded them, and in a few seconds there was a roof above their heads.

Hiei swiftly picked up Kagome bridal style and jumped out of the well. He let the surprised girl down on her feet before jumping into one of the trees.

Smiling, she picked up her backpack and headed inside. "Hi mom, I'm home!"

There was no answer. Dropping her backpack by the door, she walked towards the refrigerator and saw a note. It said:

_Kagome, _

_Souta's staying a friend's house for a few days and grandpa and I are on a little trip to go look at a bunch of "spiritual charms" and such. We'll all be gone for a while. Went grocery shopping, and your school uniform is on your bed. Don't stay up too late!_

_-Mom_

Pulling the note off, she sighed. Throwing it into the trashcan, she raided the fridge. Much to her surprise, there was a big bowl of oden. All she had to do was heat it up.

Satisfied with the contents of the refrigerator, she went upstairs to her room and opened a window. Leaning over, she called out to the trees, "You can come in if you want!"

Once again, silence greeted her. Shrugging, she went back inside and looked at her school uniform. She really didn't want to go back to school.

A soft thump indicated that Hiei was in the house. Placing himself by the window seal, he looked outside.

"So what are you going to do for the next 3 days?" she asked while she put school supplies in her backpack.

He peered over at her. "I'm going to visit my sister."

Kagome's ears perked. '_Hm, so he does have a sibling._' "What's her name?"

"…Yukina."

She looked over at him and smiled. They really had gotten close over the past few weeks. In a way, that made her feel special, that only he would really engage in a conversation with her. "Would you like anything to eat?"

He shook his head and got into a position to jump out the window. "I'll see you in 3 days" he said softly and quickly jumped out and disappeared.

Sitting down on her bed, she looked at the pile of makeup homework her brother Souta must have picked up from her. Groaning, she put her head in her hands. The next 3 days were going to be very uneventful and boring.

---

For once, Kagome actually got up on time and made it to school early. She had managed to save some Oden from dinner the night before, so she would have the rest tonight.

Everything was set for school, her lunch was made and her backpack was set. Kagome had stayed up almost all night doing her homework.

As she walked through the gates of her school, she ran into her three friends, Ayumi, Eri, and Yuka. The moment they saw her, they quickly surrounded her, having questions thrown at her left and right.

"Aren't you too sick to be in school? That tumor in your lip was only removed a few days ago. Shouldn't you be resting?" Eri asked.

Inwardly, Kagome groaned. '_Was a tumor the best thing Grandpa could come up with?!' _"Naw, I'm fine. Ugh, I have so much to catch up on."

Yuka nodded. "Hojo had been worried about you. He said he visited you at least 5 times over the past few weeks you were out, but every time he went, your grandpa said you were too sick to see anyone."

'_Hojo… that explains all those weird gifts in the family room…' _kagome thought to herself. When she had came home, she spotted wrapped gifts in a pile on the table.

As if summoned by her thoughts, Hojo appeared and walked over to their little huddle with a cheery smile on his face. "Hello Higurashi san. I do hope your feeling well. Here is some medicine that will help your stomach gas." He said as he held out a bag, which seemed to look like a combination of beef jerky and squid.

Blushing, Kagome took the food and bowed. '_Must… kill… grandpa…'_ "Thank you Hojo Kun. Well, I must be going to class now!" and with that she excused herself and quickly ran to her classroom.

---

It was math class, the one subject she absolutely hated. Mrs. Yamamoto was busy lecturing the class on how to solve an equation, and the rest of the class was asleep, or close to it. Only the really smart people took notes.

Bored to death, Kagome just stared out the window, reflecting on the past few weeks.

Lately, Sango and Inuyasha have been acting strangely. The other day, both of them went to go get some firewood, and it took them 10 minutes to get it. When they came back, Sango's hair was messed up, and both were flushed.

And when Shippo commented on it, Inuyasha hit him on the head to be quiet. Miroku was snickering about something, but he's always been kind of weird like that.

'_Speaking of Miroku, I wonder how Sango is going to take the news. She did openly tell me that she had no feelings towards him, but you never know.'_

There was also the thought of Naraku. Hopefully they could kill Naraku soon. The wind tunnel seems to be getting bigger and bigger every time he uses it.

And then there was Hiei. Over the past few weeks they had started talking more. Before she came to school, she went to a shop to drop off the stone he gave her. She was going to get a necklace connected to it so she could wear it.

They had managed to collect most of the shards. The only ones they need are from Kouga and Naraku. Sighing, she rested her head on her hand. She had managed to get use to her new animal abilities but still needed training. But Hiei could help her with that.

Trying to let go of the sad topic, she thought about another. What would happen after the jewel was completed? Would she be forced to stay in her time? Would she never get to see her friends again?

"MS. HIGURASHI!"

Jumping up from her seat, she looked straight at her furious teacher. "H-hai?" Classmates giggled at her misfortune, and her friends gave her pitied looks.

"Why don't you come up here and show the class how to solve this problem." She sneered as she adjusted her glasses on her nose.

With her head hung low, Kagome walked to the front of the class and looked at the equation. There were too many numbers and symbols for her to understand! It was bad missing all those classes. Plus she didn't get to study much when they were shard hunting.

Seeing that Kagome wasn't going to solve the problem anytime soon, the teacher dismissed her, much to Kagome's pleasure. The day slowly dragged on, and for once, Kagome was actually wishing Inuyasha would come and drag her back to Sengoku Jidai. (sp?)

-With Hiei-

After he had left Kagome's house, he hung around Kurama's house for a while. After resting, he ran over to Genkai's temple to go check up on his sister.

Of course that baka Kuwabara was there holding her hands and projecting his love for her to anyone who would listen, which is… no one.

He had to keep his anger in check. A few times he thought of the idea of lighting the baka on fire, but decided against it in the spur of the moment.

Just as he was about to leave, Yukina called out to him. Jumping from the tree he was perched in, he leaned against the wall.

She smiled at him. "Sit down and have some tea."

He couldn't deny his little sister, so he awkwardly did as he was told. Thankfully, the baka saru had left earlier.

A few months before he was assigned the mission to help collect the shards of the shikon no tama, he had finally told her he was her brother.

Her reaction was something he didn't expect. She cried and hugged him, almost immediately accepting him into her life. He thought she would hate him for all the things he did, but she didn't care. Yukina said, that all that mattered was she had her brother.

So now he had a big weight lifted off his chest. After she had poured them both tea, she sat down quietly. After a few minutes of just sitting and sipping tea, she broke the silence. "So I hear you're on a new mission by yourself."

"Hn." When she mentioned the mission, Kagome's face instantly popped into his head.

Yukina had gotten use to his short answers and silence. "How is it going? Meet any new friends?"

He looked at her from the corner of his eye. "It's okay. I have to work with a hanyou and more ningen's." He tried to keep the bitterness out of his voice when he said 'hanyou'. Hiei didn't really like the hanyou, especially how Kagome swoons over him.

A few nights ago, he caught him waiting for someone in the forest. What surprised him more was who met him. The slayer, supposedly Kagome's best friend, had been meeting Inuyasha in a rendezvous in the forest for a while now.

There had been other times too. Like when they got firewood. When they came back, it was obvious they did something. Only Kagome didn't notice anything, but was suspicious non-the less. She could be dense sometimes.

Yukina rose an eyebrow when her brother said 'hanyou.' '_What does he have against a hanyou? Could there possibly be a girl involved._' Peering at Hiei over her teacup, she saw he was in deep thought. '_Yup, definitely a girl. Who would have thought?'_

"So is there one particular person your close with?" she said casually trying to bait him into telling her everything about his new found crush which she was sure he had.

Hiei looked at her for a moment. He could trust his sister not to tell any of his friends that he has been actually enjoying the company of a ningen. A ningen onna no less. "Hai. Her name is Kagome."

She nodded. "Oh, I think I remember Botan talking about her. She said she's a real nice girl, and even had Koenma drooling over her. She must be really pretty."

"She is…" he muttered to himself quietly. But unfortunately for him, Yukina heard. Just then, his communicator went off.

Opening the communicator, he was instantly greeted with the cheery voice of Botan. "Hello Hiei! And how are you? Koenma wanted an update on the mission."

Hiei winced slightly at the perkiness in her voice. It was too much for him. "Tell him it's fine. We've managed to collect most of the shards, and we only need to get some shards from an ookami and one other youkai."

Botan saluted. "Alright! Thanks for the report. We'll see you later! Bye!" And with a click, the screen went black. Closing the communicator he shoved it back into his pocket.

"Does this mean your missions going to be over soon?" Yukina asked. She had been listening to their conversation and was curious.

"I guess so." Time sure had flew. He had only just met the inu-gumi 2-3 weeks ago. The only thing left on their agenda was to kill this youkai named Naraku.

But they had warned him about Naraku and all the evil things that he had done. It seems he won't be an easy opponent. Good thing he likes a challenge.

"Well, what are you going to do once the mission is over? Will you ever talk to Kagome again?"

Yukina smiled as she saw the grim expression on Hiei's face. It seems he does care for this girl, Kagome.

Hiei was lost in his own thoughts once again. He had never planed on getting involved with the ningen onna. But it turned out he had slowly gained feelings for her. But he would never say it to her face, only if necessary. Could he really just leave her once the mission is done, and completely forget about her? He shook his head. Only time would tell.

I'm really sorry about the information in the last chapter. You see, I finished it when it was like 1 or 2 o'clock so I was kind of out of it. Plus, I really don't care for inuyasha. He's my least favorite character in the show. Even below Naraku.

I was surprised when a lot of people didn't like the Inuyasha/Sango pairings. I'm just sick and tired of the usual pairings, S/M and I/Kikyo and if you don't like it you can just stop reading! Plus… Miroku is going to be paired with someone, just not an Inuyasha character.

R&R PS- What does 'AU' mean?


	7. The fickle heart

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or Yu yu hakusho

Authors note: For anyone who has read my other fan fic "fallen"- it is going to be discontinued like I said in several places. If anyone would like to take over, please e-mail me. I have only gotten one offer so far, so e-mail me quick if ya want the story!

Circumstances- I have a feeling this story is going to end very soon. I hope to get to at least 10 chapters, and at this point, I might. Must warn you, sucky battle scenes in next few chapters and off topic stuff might occur. Just a fair warning.

Ch.7

Kagome swung her backpack to and fro absentmindedly. Today was the day to go back to the feudal era, and she was anxious to see Hiei. She had grown accustom to having him jumping in trees besides her as she walked, keeping her company when she was by herself. Reaching into her shirt, she pulled out a necklace with the stone attached to it.

It was on a silver chain and had a silver dragon seemingly biting the stone. She fingered it as she walked up the steps. Inside her mind, she ran through a check list of what to bring back: she had enough ramen to last them a while, her school books that she needed were all with her, and she had her backpack full of medical stuff ready for her at the door.

As soon as she reached the shrine grounds, she felt Hiei's youki. Smiling to herself, she walked towards her house. "Hello!" she greeted as she passed by the Goshinboku. All she got was his normal response. "Hn."

Kagome quickly ran inside and gathered her stuff before jogging back out, with her heavy yellow backpack on her shoulder. "Shall we go?"

In a few seconds Hiei gracefully jumped from the tree and down to the ground next to kagome. He shoved his hands in his pockets and had a look of indifference on his face.

They both walked into the well house side by side in silence, secretly enjoying each other's company that was missed. Once again, they jumped into the enchanted well hand in hand, and Hiei easily carried her out once they were in the feudal era.

As soon as Hiei set Kagome down on the ground, Kagome felt something tug at her senses. Something was calling to her. Dropping her pack by the side of the well, she walked into the forest with a dazed look. Hiei watched her curiously while bordering on worrying.

He silently followed her as she walked in a trance. They reached a small clearing where they found a pile of clothes. Looking closer, Hiei found they were miko garbs. A blue orb was floating above the pile of clothes, and as Kagome walked closer, it suddenly flung itself into her body.

Kagome gasped as the soul entered her body. Placing her hand over her chest, she tried to slow down her beating heart. That was the rest of her soul. She now felt so… complete. But that meant only one thing: Kikyo was dead well, then again she wasn't really living…

Looking to her side, she found the miko garbs. Reaching down, she sadly folded them neatly. '_You finally get to rest…Kikyo'_

"I smell the hanyou."

Kagome looked towards Hiei, who was leaning against a tree behind her. Her heartbeat started to quicken. _'That… that means Inuyasha chose me over Kikyo! But, will he be okay?'_

Hugging the bundle of clothes to her chest, she ran straight for the village, currently forgetting about Hiei KM: poor Hiei…. Over and over in her mind, she kept repeating the same thing, '_Inuyasha chose me!' _

Her crush for so long had finally made his decision! She clutched the necklace underneath her school uniform. But what about Hiei? A few days ago she had been sprouting all this talk about how she might have feelings for him too.

She sighed as she ran across the bridge that led from the forest to the village. In a way, Inuyasha and Hiei were the same. Both had a tough, bad boy exterior attitude going on, but on the inside, they had caring hearts. They just expressed their kindness in different ways. For inuyasha it was lecturing her about being weak when she gets hurt in a battle, even though he was really worried. For Hiei, it's doing nice little things (carrying her out of the well, giving her the stone, not ignoring her as much as he would to the others…)

As she reached Kaede's village, she ran into the hut in a huff, startling all the people in it. Sango and Shippo looked up at her in surprise. "Is everything alright Kagome? It looks like you've been running awfully fast." Sango asked, a little worried.

"Where's Inuyasha?"

Sango sighed. '_That's right, he told me he killed Kikyo a few days ago…' _And for the first time she noticed the clothes in Kagome's hands. "Kikyo's?" she asked as she nodded towards the clothes.

Kagome nodded and set them down. "How is he?" she asked quietly as she sat down next to Shippo.

Both Shippo and Sango frowned. "He hasn't been around here for a couple of days. A couple of nights he has visited, but never stays for long."

Sighing, Kagome thought about her dog-eared friend. _'I've got to find him…_' With a new set of determination, she clenched her hand and stood up. "I'm going to go look for him."

Sango watched as Kagome drifted away from the hut. '_Only she could mend his heart. Not even I was comfort enough for him.' _Sighing, she pet Kirara's fur as she tried to calm her nerves.

---

On the outskirts of Kaede's village, there was a lone bare tree that lay off the path. It was Inuyasha's favorite tree, and he always seemed to go there to think. And since that was Kagome's only lead, she took the initiative and went there.

She sighed out of relief when she saw the vermilion hatori that stood out against the dark bark of the tree. Grabbing her courage, she quietly walked up to the tree and leaned her back against it.

Inuyasha knew she was there, he smelt her as soon as she came out of the well. '_With that short youkai…'_ He had to suppress the urge to growl in jealousy. _'But it doesn't matter, I have Sango now…'_

Even though he was in love with the youkai exterminator, he has still felt bad killing his first love. The situation had been getting bad, with the betrayal of when she stole Kagome's jewel shards and helped Naraku, he knew enough was enough. He had to put an end to it before Naraku could end up controlling her and using her against him.

When he followed her scent, he found her in the same place they had met before when Kagome had caught them together. Kikyo seemingly knew what he was going to do, and nodded slightly. Though no emotions ran though her eyes, he heard her whisper a quiet 'thank you' as he sent her to the afterlife once again. Souls lifted to the sky in a pretty show of bright lights, and he watched them silently float away.

He felt guilty when he killed her. It was almost like he killed her again, even though it was naraku disguised as him the first time.

Though he acted a bit simple-minded most of the time, he actually had a brain. Inuyasha knew that as soon as Kagome came back to the feudal era and retrieved the rest of her soul, she would think he had made his decision. But it wasn't her fault for thinking that way, it was his. He was the one who led her on and gave her hopes of a future relationship with him.

It wasn't right playing with her heart all those times, sneaking out at night to visit his dead former lover even when he knew about Kagome's feelings for him. But now, he was with her best friend, which made things even worse. He didn't know how the relationship between them started, it just… did.

Inuyasha couldn't deny it, he did have feelings for Kagome, but he had chosen Sango. After he realized he had fallen for Kagome, he knew their relationship would never work out. She was from a different time period; they could never be together. But Sango was always there, and a great warrior at that. She wasn't a replacement for Kikyo or Kagome either. He loved her and soon, he will let everyone know just that.

"Inuyasha?"

Her soft voice reached his ears, and they twitched. He didn't move his body but turned his head to look down at her.

She was looking at the sky, watching the clouds slowly drift by. "Are you okay?"

"Keh, yeah."

"… What will happen now?"

"We'll keep continuing searching for the jewel shards."

Kagome looked up at him incredulously. He couldn't be that dense right? She shook her head and tried again. "I mean between us…"

For a while, a heave silence filled the air. She shuffled her feet uncomfortably in the dirt. Minutes past, and after what seemed like forever, he answered. "Nothing."

Her face twisted into a hurt expression. Was he rejecting her? "What do you mean?" she asked, her heart heavy. She dreaded the answer that would soon come crashing down on her.

"I mean… there is nothing was between us. At first, all I saw was Kikyo in you, but then my feelings changed. Now, I just see you as a little sister. I'm sorry, but you shouldn't expect anything more out of me. Not a lover, just a friend."

Hot tears trailed down her face as she chocked back a sob. Of course, if he rejected Kikyo, why not her reincarnation? She closed her eyes to stop the tears from rolling down her face, but they continued to flow like a river. "I see…" she managed to bite out.

After all she had done for him, all the promises they made to each other, he turns her down. Wiping her eyes, she quickly ran into the forest, running away from the one person who broke her heart.

Inuyasha frowned. He had smelt her tears. He had at least expected her to 'sit' him. He felt bad turning her down, but she needed to move on. Though guilt still panged him in the chest. How was he going to tell her about his relationship with Sango? Sighing, he continued to watch the sky and think.

Ruby eyes peered from the shadows of the trees. He had seen the whole thing, and basically expected it. At least the hanyou had broken off their relationship before letting things get too far out of hand. Kagome didn't deserve to be cheated on. But he wondered why, of all times now, the hanyou decided to kill the dead miko. Perhaps the exterminator helped him with the decision? Or did he finally mature and end things that should have been all in the past?

That didn't matter now. What was important was the miko with a broken heart, who was currently running though the forest vulnerable. Without making a sound, he was gone.

---

Kagome had never expected to be rejected from Inuyasha. Knowing that he had killed his own lover himself was proof enough for her, that he had chosen who he wanted to be with. Maybe he was with someone else? No, impossible, besides the times he left to be with Kikyo, he was always with their group.

'_Maybe I just wasn't good enough…'_ she thought sadly as her running turned into a walk. The tears had long ago dried, but her heart still ached. She had no idea where she was going, and frankly, she didn't care.

As she kept walking, she suddenly walked out into an open space where the forest ended. There was a cliff just a few feet ahead of her, and looked like the perfect place to sit and think.

When she was sure it was stable enough to hold her weight, she sat down and dangled her legs over the cliff end. Staring down, she saw a small village and more forest. Here and there, she spotted bodies of water.

To keep alert, she changed into her animal form. Her nose twitched as the scent of flowers quickly flooded her senses. Inhaling deeply, the tension left her body. Nothing smelled better than flowers. '_Except for hiei' _She gasped as soon as that thought entered her mind.

Groaning, she wrapped her arms around her knees and rested her forehead on them. "No more boys, they're too much trouble."

Hiei decided to appear at that time. Kagome had run further then he had expected, and the amount of distance she had covered in the short amount of time impressed him. She had grown stronger than when he had first met her.

As he stood behind her, he watched her ears swivel towards his direction. She slowly turned her head around to show her slightly puffy red eyes. '_At least she stopped crying'_ Hiei thought. Inwardly, he was relieved. He had no idea how to comfort someone, much less a girl crying. He hesitantly walked over to her and put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "It'll be okay."

Kagome looked at him with surprised eyes. She didn't expect him when she saw him behind her, and when he put his hand on her shoulder in a comforting way, that made her even more surprised. To tell the truth, Hiei was the last person she thought she would get comfort from.

But she was happy none the less. At least he was showing that he did have emotions, even if he didn't like to broadcast them. She could fell the awkwardness in his touch.

"Thanks." He had probably seen everything. After all, she had suddenly run off on him. Frowning she looked at Hiei. She had ditched him and here he was trying to make her feel better.

Maybe she had totally misjudged him. Kagome patted the ground next to her, signaling him to sit down next to her.

Removing his hand, he quietly sat next to her. They both just silently watched the sun set. Bright colors of red, orange, and yellow filtered through the sky, slowly taking over the blue. All in all, it was breathtaking.

"Beautiful isn't it?"

Hiei looked at Kagome from the corner of his eye. She was smiling, but sadness took over her features.

"Nn." He said with a slight nod.

She turned to look at him. "I half expected you to say 'hn.'"

"Hn."

Giggling softly, she turned back towards the setting sun. "Have you ever been in love?"

He stared at her for a second before scoffing. He was a forbidden child. 'Love' was not a word that was used much in his vocabulary. "I do not believe in such foolish ningen emotions." That wasn't totally true. He loved Yukina, after all, she was his only family. And in a way, he loved his team, not that he would ever admit it to him. He would rather have his dragon of the darkness flame eat him!

Tearing her eyes away from the beautiful scenery, she frowned at him. "Don't say that, emotions are useful."

"Look where they got you."

Closing her eyes, Kagome smiled sadly. "Yes, that's true, my heart has been broken, but that doesn't mean my spirit hasn't. Things will heal over. It's better to have loved, then to not have experience love at all." She reflected on all the sweet memories of Inuyasha. In time, she would be over him.

For once, her head finally felt cleared. "Don't worry, you'll understand what I'm talking about once you find the right girl." She said with a wink. "Take chances and give someone a try, who knows, they may be the right one for you."

Hiei considered her words for a few minutes. 'Take chances…' "…Kagome, I… like you."

He never looked at her; afraid of the look he would get when she rejected him. After all, his heritage firmly told him that he was never supposed to be loved. Hearing no answer, he turned his head, and saw Kagome had fallen with her head resting on her knees.

Exhaling a lot of air, he started chuckling. She had fallen asleep on his declaration of love for her. How ironic. Dusting the dirt of his pants, he bent down and easily picked her up bridal style. With a hand, he brushed a few stray hairs out of her face. He let it linger there longer than necessary, as he lightly caressed her face.

Withdrawing his hand, he 'hned' just for good measure before he headed towards the village.

---

Sango fussed over her friend, when she saw her in Hiei's arms, but calmed down when she saw she was only sleeping.

Of course Inuyasha had not come back yet, not that anyone had expected him to. Now that he had gotten over Kikyo's death, he had to recover a while from breaking Kagome's heart.

Pushing the straw covering out of the way, Hiei laid Kagome down and covered her with a blanket. It was now dark and the temperature had cooled. Sitting down next to her, he stared intently at her face.

If he told her his feelings, would she accept him? But she had just broken up with the hanyou, so maybe she needed more time. Or maybe he could be the one to help her recover over her loss. Hiei sighed inwardly. He wasn't good at romancing an onna like the fox could. Hell, he never even _tried_ to romance _anyone_. But like he decided at Genkai's, Kagome was special.

His eyebrows furrowed for a second before his face went back to his unreadable mask. Would he really confront her with his feelings? After all, he was famous for showing no feelings at all. Risking humiliation once was enough for him, and she just had to miss it. '_I suppose I could try again, just this once.' _

Voices flooded into the room, and he recognized one to be the monk's. At that moment, Kagome moved a bit as her eyes slowly opened. "Hiei…?" she mumbled still half asleep.

"Hn."

Smiling, she sluggishly sat up and rubbed her eyes. "Did I fall asleep?"

He nodded. Getting up from his position on the floor, he held out a hand. Kagome took it, and together they walked to the main part of the hut.

Miroku was there smiling like an idiot. When he saw kagome, his smile shined even brighter. "Oh! Kagome! It's wonderful! Mei's pregnant!"

Kagome squealed and crushed Miroku into a hug. Then it dawned at her and she pulled away raising a suspicious eyebrow at him. "You've already done it with her and you're not even married yet?!"

The monk scratched his head uncomfortably with a small blush across his face. Every occupant in the room (except for Hiei, who could care less) gave him a disapproving look.

"Keh, you hentai monk. You're bound to get yourself into a lot of trouble."

Everyone turned to see the infamous inu hanyou with his back against the wall, his eyes closed. Sango breathed out a sigh of relief. He had finally gotten over his guilt.

"Where have you been? You made all of us worry!" Shippo lectured, shaking a paw at Inuyasha.

In a flash, Shippo's head was between Inuyasha's fists. "What's it to you runt?!"

Ignoring everyone (Shippo and Inuyasha had started to fight), Hiei just concentrated on Kagome. He watched as she sadly watched Inuyasha, but quickly replaced it with a fake cheery face. '_Hn. The hanyou must have been really important to her.'_

While all the fighting was going on, she turned towards him and their eyes locked. "I think I left my bag by the well. I'm going to go get it okay?"

Before he could even answer, she quietly slipped around the group and ventured out into the dark. Hiei took one glance at the group before shaking his head and racing after her.

When Inuyasha had finally gotten Shippo off his face, he looked around. '_Where did Kagome and shorty go?' _"Oi. Where's the wench?"

Everyone stopped talking and looked around. Inuyasha was right kagome was missing.

Miroku coughed gaining the attention of the others. "I believe the other youkai, Hiei, is also gone."

"Where could they have gone?" questioned Sango silently, though everyone wondered the same thing.

"Hmp. I wouldn't worry about the girl. He could take care of her."

Shippo growled and pounced on Inuyasha again. "How could you be so mean to Kagome?!"

"RRRRRR! Get off you runt!" And the immature ones once again started a fight.

---

Huffing, Kagome made her way towards the well. Her bright yellow backpack made it easy to spot it in the dark. After seeing her backpack, she sat down next to it, her head resting on the well.

Even though she had come to terms with the way Inuyasha felt, it still hurt seeing him. Memories came back, along with the heartbreak. Tears started running down her face. Propping her legs up, she covered her arms over her knees and started crying.

Suddenly, she gasped and looked around frantically. She felt a huge amount of jewel shards, along with an evil youkai aura. Concentrating, she pinpointed the source of the shards coming from straight in front of her.

"My poor little miko." A deep said in fake pity. "Why are you crying? Did the inu hanyou break your heart?"

Kagome's eyes narrowed. "Naraku!" she spat out. Standing out, she reached for her arrows. Her eyes widened when she realized she forgot to bring any_. 'Kuso! I was being too careless!'_

She felt a gush of wind, and in a matter of seconds, large hands were wrapped around her. One on her stomach, the other cupping her chin, forcing her to look at the one person she despised.

Her miko powers flared, trying to break his hold. His hand restricted tighter around her, crushing her to him. "Now now, don't be in such a hurry to leave. I know what you've been through. I watched as the hanyou threw away your love."

Kagome screwed her eyes shut and tried to block out the spider hanyou as best as she could. She didn't need to hear his nonsense.

"But…" he continued. "I came across something very interesting a few days ago." He gently ran a finger over her smooth cheek. "Our dear old friend Inuyasha, wasn't embracing Kikyo, but someone else."

Her eyes flew open. '_There was someone else?! No… Naraku must be lying.'_ "Like I would ever believe you!" she spat out angrily. She wouldn't give him the upper hand by letting him control her emotions.

"Oh? But I can show you…"

Just as he was about to summon Kanna and her mirror, a black blur cut his arms off, thus releasing Naraku's hold on Kagome. As soon as she was free, she stood behind her savior.

Hiei was not happy. He had come across this filthy half-breed to be touching what was soon to be his (yes… protective instincts were kicking in…too OOC?). He glared at Naraku, that could have burned him to hell if he wanted to. But he wasn't going to give him such an easy death; he was going to make it torturous and painful.

With a whoosh of air, he was gone and had already striked Naraku 15 times. The spider had no time to react, and with a scowl on his face, he called his insects (someone care to tell me what they're called?) carried what was left of his sliced up body away.

He glared at the one who cut his time short with the beautiful miko. The short youkai would pay. As his eyes traveled to Kagome, he smirked evilly. "Always remember, that your companions may not be as truthful and honest as they seem." Cackling, he disappeared into the sky, the clouds helping him with his escape.

Kagome stared at the sky with a confused look. '_What was he talking about?'_ She clutched the jewel shards to her chest. '_And why hadn't he taken the shards?_'

A determined look came over her features. "Next time he comes, I'll be ready."

---

Naraku started laughing while flying through the sky. _'I have already planted a seed of doubt into her mind. All I need to do is give her the proof of the inu hanyou's relationship with the exterminator. Then, she will be mine to control.' _

If Kikyo couldn't be his, then her reincarnation will be.

R&R! NO FLAMES! Hope ya like it! Please give back feed back!


	8. To love

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or Yu yu hakusho

Yo ho ho! An answer to one reviewer's question is: Yes, Kagome and Hiei will eventually get together.. just be patient. Something might even happen in this chapter-

Sniff sniff I'm so glad I've changed some non-hiei/kag lovers into hiei/kag lovers. YAY! I love all of you who review and like my story 3

Ch. 8

Something was up. That much she knew. Kagome kicked the rock in front of her angrily. The things Naraku said sparked her interests. But then again, she couldn't believe someone like him… could she? Frowning, she wondered what he would have showed her if Hiei hadn't interrupted.

Would he show her an illusion or spell? Shaking her head furiously, she let out a long sigh. The day was rough on her mentally and physically. Her heart was broken yet slightly mended thanks to a certain friend, and their enemy told her about Inuyasha having another relationship with someone else. This was too much like a TV soap opera.

'_Maybe Naraku was telling the truth for once. After all, he didn't take the jewel shards.'_ she pondered. Everything was turning out to be some great mystery.

Turning to her side, she faced Hiei. "Thanks… for saving me."

He just nodded slightly. Noticing her shifting the backpack from shoulder to shoulder, he gently took it out of her hands and slung it around his own shoulder. She smiled gratefully. "Thanks, again."

Halfway along the way to the village, they ran into a frantic up Inuyasha.

"Where is he? I smelled Naraku!" he growled out with his hand on the hilt of the tetsaiga and his nose in the air.

Kagome gave him a half smile. "He was here, but escaped. Gomen."

Inuyasha glared at the sky. "Keh, damn bastard got away again." Tearing his eyes from the sky, he looked at the two. "Come back to the hut. There's a little celebration going on." With one last look at the pair, he bounded off ahead of them.

Kagome looked curiously at Hiei who didn't look the least bit interested. Shrugging, she continued walking.

As they reached the hut, she heard laughing. Peeking inside one of the rooms, she saw everyone sitting around the fire merrily. Kagome noticed the new member of the group.

She was sitting very close to Miroku, and they were holding hands. She had long brown/black hair that was held up in a bun with a few stray hairs framing her face. Her eyes were big and were a nice shade of hazel. She wore a simple kimono that was red with little colorful butterflies flying randomly on it. All in all, she was pretty.

'_Ah, that must be the girl Miroku is going to marry!'_ kagome thought happily.

Miroku, noticing the new comers greeted them warmly. "Come on in! Meet my soon-to be wife!" he said happily.

They both joined them KM: gasp! Hiei's being social! and joined their little circle. Kagome sat by Sango with Hiei at her side. With a quick scan around the room, Kagome spotted Inuyasha sitting in a corner, a little away from the group with his hands in his sleeves.

Even now with Miroku's fiancé here he couldn't be close with them. But that was Inuyasha for you.

The night was going pretty well, they got to get to know Mei better and chatted over little things. One of the topics that got everyone riled up was what to name the baby. Inuyasha had even added in his own two cents.

As the night progressed, Miroku mysteriously pulled out a bottle of sake out of no where and offered it around the circle. Thankfully, Shippo was asleep so they didn't have to worry about him. And Kaede had left a while ago, letting the young ones have their fun.

Of course Mei couldn't drink since she had a growing child inside of her, so that left her out. After taking a swing, Miroku offered it to Sango.

Surprisingly, she took a gulp. "Bleh, I never did like the taste of sake…" She said as she wiped her mouth. Lifting the jug, she held it out to Kagome.

Kagome shook her head with her hands up. "I'm under age…" was her lame excuse. Once she had tried some at a sleep over with her friends, and she found out that she doesn't like hangovers. She never wanted to relive that experience.

She grabbed it and offered it to Hiei, who slightly moved his head from side to side. It looked like he didn't drink either. Shrugging, she got up to from her seat and offered it to Inuyasha.

He had been silently watching them and stared at her as she approached. With a keh, he grabbed the sake from her hand and downed a lot. Wiping his mouth with the back of his clawed hand, he smirked. "You guys are weak. It's not even that strong."

A vein throbbed in Sango's forehead. "What are you saying Inuyasha?" she asked, her eyes darkening.

"I'm saying I can probably drink may more than you can handle. Your weak ningen bodies probably couldn't take it."

Fire burned behind Sango as she abruptly stood up. Stomping over to the corner Inuyasha was in, she snatched the alcohol away from him and took a huge gulp.

Kagome watched worriedly from her spot as her two traveling companions were getting drunk. Both were too stubborn and high in pride to back down. Sighing looked across the fire and saw Miroku hugging Mei affectionately.

She almost 'awwed'. For once he wasn't being his perverted self and was being a gentleman. Blushing, she turned away when they started kissing passionately. Okay, so maybe he wasn't being a _complete_ gentleman. But, then again, they say you can't change a person.

With a chuckle, Miroku stood up and offered a hand to Mei. His staff jingled as they started walking out the hut. "We'll be going back to our own hut now. Have fun!" he said with a wink and ushered his future wife out the door.

'_Hm.. The married life. I wonder what it would be like…' _she wondered to herself. Turning her attention back to the people with alcohol, she held back laughter when she saw the positions they were in.

Apparently both were all talk, for they were both out cold. Inuyasha was asleep with a frown on his face, a clawed hand on the rope holding the sake. His leg would occasionally twitch every now and then, along with his nose. Sango was lying next to him, tugging on one of his ears. Her mouth was wide open and she was drooling slightly.

Even Hiei chuckled at the sight. It was so funny it was almost pathetic. Not being able to hold it in anymore, Kagome fell to the ground laughing. She laughed so hard tears began to form out of her eyes. Clenching her sides, she willed her laughter to stop. The next thing she needed was to wake up Shippo.

She looked at Hiei from the ground and saw that he was now watching her highly amused. Blushing, she realized just how ridiculous she looked, sprawled out on the floor with tears in her eyes while holding her sides. How swave of her.

Standing up, she straightened out her clothes and looked at him. "Well, what do you want to do now? I'm wide awake and can't really go to sleep…"

"We'll train. Change your clothes and meet me in the usual spot." With that said, he disappeared. He definitely wanted to work her harder after the experience with Naraku a few hours ago. There was no way he was going to risk her life against some baka spider hanyou.

Sighing, she went into another room to change. She pulled out her outfit for the night, which was a tight black tank top that kept everything held down, and some loose black pants that hugged her hips. After tying her hair back in a ponytail, she set out for the forest.

In a flash she was in her animal form, ears perked and alert. Kagome flexed her claws nervously. Since she lived in the city, she was use to seeing lights at night. But here in the feudal era, everything was completely dark. The only source of light she could go by was the moon.

Leaves rustled in the wind and Kagome put her guard up. With a twitch of the legs, she pushed off the ground and leaped into the air. Switching her legs around, she aimed a foot for a branch in a tree.

As she suspected, a small figure quickly moved out of the way and out of sight. All the nights they had trained together was finally paying off.

She sniffed the air lightly and locked on to his scent. Running softly, she ran deeper into the forest and cracked her knuckles. Tonight was going to be fun. She needed to get her mind off things, more like people, aka Naraku and Inuyasha.

Her running stopped as she ran into a path that led you through the trees. Cautiously, she took it. Since he was playing hard to get, she would have to lure him out.

It was a stupid yet bold move. With her ears swiveling to every sound, she slowly walked down the path, her eyes darting around her and her nose sniffing for any scent that could reveal where he was.

Kagome's instincts suddenly perked and told her to move out of the way, and quick. Trusting them fully, she let them guide her out of the path and into a safety of a tree. She peeked down through the leaves and saw Hiei with his katana out.

Good thing she moved, or else she would have been sliced like a piece of meat! With her claws digging into the branch she was perched on, she pounced off it and aimed straight for Hiei. With her claws ready to attack, she swiped at him.

Of course he evaded such a simple attack and countered by aiming his katana for her heart. With the momentum of the pounce from the tree, Kagome couldn't stop herself and was literally falling towards the outstretched blade.

Panicking, she caught the blade between her hands. She was surprised but didn't dwell on it for she was still fighting him, and quickly kicked Hiei in the chest, making him release his hold on his katana.

Tossing the blade upwards, Kagome quickly caught the blade by the handle and started running towards him at full speed.

Hiei easily sidestepped the attack, and kicked her back making her fall forward. Kagome tried to catch her footing, but before she could, he attacked her again. Using his speed, he ran in front of her and punched her in the gut. Out of surprise, she let go of the katana.

Catching his weapon, he aimed for her neck. After being punched, she flipped backward off the ground and landed on her feet, clutching her stomach. Since he thought she was trained enough to spar him with weapons, he had been hard on her.

Wincing, she lightly rubbed her stomach. She had a feeling there was going to be a bruise there in the morning. Kagome's eyes widened when she saw Hiei come at her once again and didn't have enough time to react.

Before she knew it, her back was slammed against a trunk with a katana at her neck. With her ears flat against her head in defeat, she let a small whimper escape from her lips. "I… guess you won." She said with a nervous gulp. The blade was a little too close to her liking.

Kagome blushed when she saw how close they were. His face was only inches away from her own, and she could feel his breath lightly caressing her skin. "Uh, Hiei?" Looking at him, she observed his face. He looked like he was thinking hard about something.

And he was. His eyes flashed for a second, making Kagome gasp before he did something she never thought he would do.

He kissed her.

For once in his life, Hiei put his heart in jeopardy. Would the girl reject him? Never speak to him again? Maybe not even look at him? The doubts were swimming around in his mind.

But for her, for this simple miko whom he had only met a few months ago, he would risk everything. Even the thing most precious to him, that he had kept hidden for years, thinking no one could bring it back to life. His heart.

From the beginning of his life, he had grown a thick layer of ice around his heart. That was a common weakness of most, and he would not let himself fall pray to something as simple as that. Plus growing up in a cruel world made him realize that he was better off without one if he wanted to survive.

Alas… meeting Kagome changed everything. She brought warmth to his heart and showed that she cared for him. He was someone who hadn't even tried, or asked, for her affections and attention. But received it anyways.

So now, he went for it. He kissed her. Something so simple but filled it with lots of emotions. Ones that he would never be able to truly express. The question is, would she accept his love?

Kagome was surprised. Her eyes widened when their lips made contact. I mean come on; she had only known him for a short period of time! And she was still getting over her heartbreak.

But she couldn't deny she had some sort of feelings for him. Even if she didn't know what they were herself. But the kiss… it felt so…right.

Well, what did she have to lose? Her heart had already been shattered, could he be the one to pick up the pieces? After experiencing rejection once, would she be able to handle it again so soon? Aw hell, what could a little kiss do?

Closing her eyes, she pressed forward, showing Hiei that she wanted this kiss as much as he did. Dropping his katana to the ground, he put both his arms around her sides, trapping her against the tree.

Deciding to be bold, Kagome lifted her hands and wrapped them around his neck bring him closer to her. Hiei tilted his head and deepened the kiss. He let his tongue nudge her lips, quietly giving her the signal to open her mouth.

She obeyed, and let their tongues meet. Kagome moaned at the new sensations. Sure, she had kissed Inuyasha, but it hadn't even come close to this! She winced when her tongue touched her own fangs, cutting her a little bit.

But the sting was instantly soothed when Hiei's tongue lightly ran over the cut, instantly healing it with the enzymes in his youkai saliva.

After a few minutes of battling tongues, Hiei had won dominance over her mouth and had her head against the tree. He enjoyed the taste of her mouth and knew that he had become addicted to it. Now all he had to do was claim her and everything would be perfect.

Parting for air, Kagome panted while blushing a pretty pink. That was her first make out session, and boy had it been intense.

So much passion was put into that kiss. She was surprised he had it in him. Smiling, she tapped her nose against his and gave him an Eskimo kiss. "So what does this mean?" she asked with a small giggle.

"Hn, whatever you want it to mean."

Kagome rose an eyebrow at him. "So… does this mean we're a couple now?" The thought was weird. He didn't say directly in words to her that he liked her, but she knew from the kiss what his feelings for her were.

He nodded and kissed the corner of her mouth. "I'm now courting you." And before she could say anything, he caught her lips in yet another passionate kiss.

Hiei smirked against her lips. Maybe taking chances weren't that bad after all.

-

Naraku narrowed his eyes at the image of the couple kissing against a tree. With a wave of a hand, the image disappeared and the mirror was once again blank. "Leave."

With that simple command, the albino girl left with a bow.

Things weren't going the way they were supposed to. The young miko was supposed to stay heart-broken, and once he showed her the inu-hanyou's relationship with the exterminator, she was supposed to come to him utterly defeated and vulnerable.

And if that didn't work, he would simply control her mind and emotions. That way she'll be easy to manipulate.

But then the short youkai came into the picture. He had noticed him the first day he joined their little group and had to say he was quite impressed with his skills. If he worked for him, he would have conquered many lands by now.

Though now his thoughts changed. Naraku never thought he would become romantically involved with the miko. From what he observed, he was cold and distant to everyone in the group. Only a few times had he seen the short youkai converse, but that was only with Kagome.

A sinister smirk made his way onto his face. If he couldn't get her to come to him on her own, he would just have to break her mentally. A plan started to form in his evil mind. Oh yes, there will be a way to show her what her so-called 'friends' are really doing while she's not looking

"This will be fun. And by the time my little game is done, I will have the miko and shikon no tama in my hands!" His lip twitched as he started to laugh evilly into the night. Km05: What a loser…

The next morning

Kagome pulled her sleeping bag over her face to shield her eyes from the morning sun light. With her eyes still closed, she smiled to herself. She was now with Hiei.

It was really weird how they got together. Neither said a simple phrase such as "I like you" or anything like that. Instead it was expressed physically, though she wasn't complaining.

But when he started talking about courting, she instantly thought of animals. You know, like all the animal TV shows that talk what some male birds would do when courting a female, well that's what threw her off.

After their little lip-lock, Hiei explained the way that youkai mate or more or less chooses their mate. When males find themselves females that would produce strong offspring they would literally mate and receive a bite mark on their shoulder. The mark would prove to any youkai that the female (and male if both are youkai) is already taken. Of course the males scent would also permanently mix in with the females as another warning to keep other males away. The only way the mark would fade is if either spouse dies or another male challenges the female's current mate and wins. Then he would replace the previous mark with his own.

Kagome's head spun with all this new information. But came back to earth when she heard the mating part. Hopefully Hiei didn't expect her to.. Ahem… do that stuff yet! For kami's sake she is only 16!

Plus with collecting the jewel shards and defeating Naraku, they had their hands full. And she didn't think her broken heart was ready for all of that yet. So hopefully the fire apparition holds a lot of patients because all he's going to be doing for the time being is waiting.

Grunting, Kagome opened her eyes and sat up in her sleeping bag. Stretching her arms, she yawned and blinked a few times to get her vision to clear. They had gotten back pretty late last night, and she barely got enough sleep with all the loud snoring that was produced from Inuyasha.

Getting up, she gathered the pots and pans necessary for making ramen and got breakfast started. Grabbing one of the larger pots, she started to walk towards the river to get the amount of water needed for cooking the noodles.

After 2 steps, Hiei appeared in front of her and took the pot from her hands. "I'll get it." And in a flash he was gone and appeared in 5 milliseconds with a pot full of water.

Kagome smiled gratefully. "Thank you Hiei." Just as she was about to kiss her helper, they heard a huge groan and turned their heads back towards the hut.

Inuyasha was leaning against the doorframe, while holding his head. Ah, the joys of hangovers. There were dark circles under his eyes and his ears were plastered against his head. "Damn, I feel like a giant youkai just stepped on my head!"

Giggling, Kagome set down the pot over a fire. "Alcohol will do that to you."

He just growled in response. Soon an overly hyper Shippo came bounding out.

"Kagome! Kagome! Ifoundsomechocolateinyourbagandiatesomesonowihavealotofenergy!" (Translation: I found some chocolate in your bag and ate some so now I have a lot of energy!)

Both Kagome and Inuyasha groaned. Kagome because she now had a very very hyper kit in her hands and Inuyasha because his head was starting to pound from all the loud noise.

"Shut up will ya!" Inuyasha growled out as he hit Shippo on top of the head.

Shippo covered his head with his hands as a bump appeared. "Ow! You stupid inu!" And jumped up and pulled his ear.

Inuyasha's eye twitched before he began chasing the kit around. "Come here you little runt! Just wait until I catch you!"

All the commotion woke up another happy camper. Sango came out also holding her head with an evil glare on her face. Apparently she didn't feel that good in the morning either.

Her eye started to twitch as she watched the 2 run around. When Inuyasha ran by Sango, she punched him in the head, effectively knocking him down to the ground and unconscious.

Kagome and Hiei watched in silence, a little bit scared of the way Sango was acting. Shippo, in fear of getting hit too, took shelter on Kagome's shoulder.

Smiling suddenly, Sango looked at the pot over the fire. "Breakfast ready yet?"

All 3 sweat dropped, wondering about Sango's mental sanity.

There, I am done with another chapter. UGH! Did I go too fast with Hiei and Kagome? First their relationship goes really slow, then it goes to fast! Oh well, I hope you people can deal with it. And I'm sorry that I repeated a few words a too many times… But w/e and like the usual RR!


	9. Confusion

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or Yu yu hakusho

AH! Chapter nine… how wonderful. Does anyone know why certain symbols don't show up when I post chapters on ffnet? o0

Responses

Kitsune'sangelofflames- of course I'm continuing it! I wouldn't stop it for the world! (But for Hiei I would… :p)

rubychik09- Heh.. Don't worry! I will make them sneak around more cuz y'all know Hiei isn't one to project his feelings… unless he's showing someone what is his. As for the thing where Hiei will say "I love you"… nyeh. I really can't see Hiei saying that, even to someone he truly loves. But I guess it depends on what kind of situation he's in…

CrimsonEyes7806- if you do write hiei/kag stories…KYAAA! I will happily review them! (But I might have to e-mail them since my computer is being stupid…)

Skitzoflame- I agree. Naraku should go die in a corner… heh.

Ch. 9

As soon as Inuyasha and Sango had rested enough to travel, they cleaned up their breakfast and set out once more. They were currently walking some beat up road that was on the out skirts of kaede's village.

Someone from a distant village came to Kaede for help the other day and said there was some strange youkai activity somewhere deep in their forests, and that a traveling monk had warned them about the strong demonic air that surrounded it.

Since they hadn't heard from Naraku in a while, they could only hope the rumor would lead them to him. Seeing as they had no other leads, the inu-tachi plus Hiei had no choice but to check it out.

Kagome sighed happily as she breathed in the fresh air. She pulled her arms back for a stretch before glancing at her other traveling companions. Inuyasha was leading, as usual, and Sango and Miroku were right behind him. Behind Sango and Miroku was Shippo who was playing with Kirara with Kagome keeping an eye on them from behind. Hiei was in his usual spot, meaning he was some where in the shadows staying close enough to keep a close eye on everyone.

She was feeling pretty happy and confident. She was in a relationship with a hott fire apparition, was learning how to fight, and got over her long crush. Looking at Inuyasha, she frowned as she felt the familiar jab of heartbreak. _'Okay, so I'm still working on the moving on part but that doesn't mean I'm going to keep thinking about Inuyasha while I have Hiei…'_ she thought with a small smile.

"Hey! Miroku! When's your wedding?" Kagome asked curiously. She wanted to know the date ahead of time, that way she had an excuse for school ready.

The monk looked upwards with a hand on his chin. "Nnn, I'd say about a week or less. We want to be wed before the baby comes." He said with a soft chuckle.

"I still can't believe you got her pregnant before you are properly bonded to each other." Sango commented, while shaking her head in disappointment. But then again it was Miroku, and everyone knew the lecherous monk couldn't keep his hands off anything that walks on two legs with breasts and a nice butt.

A snort resounded around the quiet area, which caused everyone to stare at one of the near by trees. When no other comment was said or heard, the three shrugged and continued their conversation.

"Well at least he's not marrying Mei just because she's pregnant. In my time it's a disgrace to have a child around my age since we're considered to be to young to be a parents. But I guess here I'm the right age." She said with a shrug at the end.

A smile slowly spread across Miroku's face as he looked behind him at the young time traveler. "Kagome! If you wanted to be a mother, why didn't you ask me before I met Mei? I would have happily given you children!"

Before he could say anymore, Sango hit him on the head with her boomerang while Kagome blushed out of embarrassment. Out of no where, a marble sized rock came flying at Miroku's head, gaining him yet another bump.

"Oi! What's going on back there! We don't have time to waste, so stop talking and keep walking!" Inuyasha yelled over his shoulder, throwing everyone an agitated look.

After smiling at where she assumed Hiei was, Kagome leaned in a little forward a bit and whispered, "What's up with Inuyasha? He seems a little more grouchier then usual."

After petting Kirara's head, Shippo jumped onto Kagome's shoulder. "I don't know. Maybe he's still sad over Kikyo."

In a flash a fist came crashing down on Shippo's head as soon as his comment slipped out of his mouth. "Hey you runt, didn't I tell ya to be quiet earlier!"

Hugging Shippo protectively against her chest, Kagome glared at him before uttering the word "Sit!"

BOOM! Down the inu hanyou went. After shaking their head at the hanyou in the ground, the group kept walking forward knowing Inuyasha would recover and catch up with them later.

"You traitors!" he yelled into the ground as he heard their footsteps fade.

-----

"Ugh! I can't believe this! What a waste of time!" Inuyasha snarled as he stomped through the forest angrily.

The disturbance turned out to be yet another youkai, corrupted by Naraku and used for his purposes. They guessed it was to throw them off track, meaning they were far from finding him and his hide out.

With heavy hearts, they continued walking North in hopes of hearing some more rumors.

"Well at least we managed to save some people." Shippo commented, trying to lighten the mood as he sucked on the lollipop Kagome brought back for him.

Most of the group nodded. The sun was starting to set, and soon the stars would spread across the sky.

After eating the usual dinner (ramen of course), they all pulled out their sleepwear and started settling down.

Kagome was in her usual sleeping bag with Shippo, Inuyasha and Hiei were in the tree's, Sango was sleeping by the fire with Kirara, and Miroku had his back against one of the trees with his staff across his lap.

By now everyone had fallen asleep, weary from the long walk and fight. Currently only two were awake, a short hybrid and a blue-eyed miko.

It was too early to sneak out and train, for the fire was still burning bright. Kagome watched the flickering flames as she thought about the jewel. Only a few more pieces and it would be completed.

That would mean she would have to say good bye to all her friends here in sengoku jidai. Rolling around in her sleeping bag, she sighed. It was a topic she really didn't want to think about, but with the known fact that Naraku was soon going to be coming after them for the remaining shards soon, she couldn't help but worry.

What if they didn't come out alive? What if Naraku lived? Would they even win the fight? Though she hated to doubt their group, she had to cover all angles. Of course she wasn't 100 percent sure she herself would come out alive, and she knew her family probably did too.

Tiling her head, she looked over at Sango and Miroku. They still had things to do in their life, with Miroku being a father and Sango possibly rebuilding her clan, everyone had a lot to lose.

A sharp kick snapped her out of her negative thoughts. Looking down, Kagome watched Shippo roll around muttering something while his arms and legs twitched every now and then.

'_Must be having a dream about running around or something like that.' _She thought with a small smile. Rolling around again, she stopped moving until she was lying on her back and was staring at the stars.

"Good night." She said with a yawn as her eyes slowly closed.

"…Hn." Came a soft reply.

-----

Naraku smiled at the cozy little scene that was set before him. They were all tired and had their defenses down so they could finally get some rest.

A cruel smile suddenly played upon his lips as he stared at the group intensely. Now was the time to put his plan into action.

With a wave of the hand, he summoned Kagura who appeared outside the shoji screen and bowed.

"What can I do for you Naraku?" She asked in monotone. Her red eyes narrowed hatefully at her so called "master". _'Some day I will be free like the wind…' _

Naraku smirked at the hidden hate laced in every word she spoke to him. The spider hanyou was well aware of the hate his spawn had against him. But he could care less and if anything, he made her hate for him worse. "I want you to carry out the plan. We wouldn't want the others to interfere now would we?"

With a small bow, Kagura quickly stood up and pulled out a feather from her hair. She quickly glided away from Naraku's little hide out and into the warm night air. '_I wonder what he's planning.'_ She wondered.

All he told her was that she was to put some sleeping powder into the wind so it would keep the inu tachi asleep, but he very strict on specifically telling her to leave the miko alone. Of course he never told her what exactly he planned to do, so she couldn't be certain on what his intentions were.

"Of course he wouldn't tell me. I'm only a puppet that serves him." She said with a frown. True, she hadn't been the nicest towards them, but deep down she believed that Inuyasha and the rest of his friends would someday kill Naraku and set her free. It didn't matter if being free meant death, as long as she could escape from the evil hanyou's grasp.

Without any disturbance in the atmosphere, she quickly glided her way towards the camp the inu tachi set up. Grabbing a handful of powder out of a bag, she quickly released it below her and used her fan to guide it.

The light wind carried the power over the bodies of Inuyasha, Sango, Miroku, Shippo, Kirara, and Hiei; purposefully missing the slumbering miko.

No one in the group suspected anything as they unknowingly breathed in the powder, lulling them into a deeper sleep.

Folding her fan, Kagura looked at the group before quickly returning towards their hide out.

-----

Everything was set, and now he could finally get his plan into action. Pulling on his infamous white baboon pelt, Naraku quickly disappeared into the night with his saimyousho.

A sinister grin was plastered on his face. _'Finally my dear miko, you will feel the darkness and betrayal within your own heart.'_

-----

Kagome woke up with a loud gasp. Something in her gut told her something was wrong. Shaking her head, she wiped the sweat off her brow and looked around her. Everyone was quietly sleeping and looked unaffected by her little outburst.

'_Was it part of a dream?_' Blinking a few times to clear the blurriness away, she quietly slipped out of her sleeping bag and walked over to the tree that wasn't too far away from her.

With a quick crouch, she easily jumped from the ground and into the tree without making a sound. She had to smile when she saw Hiei sleeping. He was so adorable when he wasn't glaring, scowling, or frowning.

Walking over to him on silent feet, she reached out and lightly caressed his face. His skin was smooth and warm. Kagome was a little surprised that he hadn't woken up yet. Usually he was always alert and prepared to fight.

She was sure he wasn't dead, for the rise and fall of his chest proved so. Her previous fears arose and she started to panic a little bit. "Hiei." No response. She even pinched his cheek and pulled hard, but didn't receive even a twitch.

"Hiei!" she said more sternly. No poking or prodding could wake up him. Huffing, her temper shot up, and she finally resorted to yelling. "HIEI!"

Still no response. Okay, now she was scared. She looked around the campfire, waiting for the others to awaken by her loud yelling, but suspiciously none did. Not even inuyasha, who had perfect hearing since he was an inu youkai.

Jumping off the branch, she quickly ran to the others and felt their necks. Like Hiei, they were alive, just unconscious in the slumber of sleep.

It hit her all at once when she suddenly felt a large amount of jewel fragments and an evil demonic aura coming towards her. She gasped before whipping her head around, facing the spider hanyou their whole group despised so much.

"Good evening miko." Naraku said with a sinister grin on his face.

With a growl, she quickly changed into a defense stance, every muscle in her body tense and ready to fight.

Naraku chucked. "Now now, no need for that. I only came to… talk." He said with amusement clear in his voice.

Kagome glared at Naraku. "Yeah right! What have you done to my friends!"

She saw his mouth turn upwards into a smile. "Nothing my dear, they're only sleeping. Let them have their rest, plus we can now talk without any rude interruptions."

"There is nothing to talk about." Every hair on her body was standing up right. She knew she had no chance against Naraku by herself. Not even in her animal form. Her powers may have grown stronger, but she knew for a fact that she wasn't ready for a one on one fight against the semi-powerful hanyou. But if she had to protect her friends, then she would with her life.

"Ah, but we do. I had to leave you last time by the well due to some… unfortunate situations." He said as he stared directly at the hybrid through the branches.

Kagome's hair bristled as a low growl escaped her lips. "Leave him alone."

Though she couldn't see it, she could feel his eyebrow raise in surprise and curiosity. '_Damn bastard.'_ She thought as she felt her fangs start to grow.

"Hm, I seem to have hit a soft spot. Tell me, what is your… _relationship_… with the small one?"

Her eyes narrowed dangerously. "None of your damn business."

"Touchy touchy." He released a tentacle from underneath his baboon pelt and let it extend towards Hiei. It wrapped around his body, and lifted him off the tree branch and let him dangle in front of Kagome.

Her lip rose in a snarl, revealing her sharp canine fangs. She was slowly starting to turn into her animal form, and was trying hard to prevent it. As far as she knew, Naraku had no idea of the changes and had wasn't planning to tell him either.

Naraku chuckled as he saw the small changes in the miko and wasn't the least bit phased. "I have never seen you so… animalistic before miko. The fangs are a nice touch too."

'_So he knew'_ she thought through gritted teeth. Right now she didn't trust him, not that she ever did, but now even more then ever for he had her boyfriend dangling at a great height and doubted he would put him down gently. "Leave him out of this!" she yelled, and in a flash used her now grown claws to cut the tentacles off Hiei's body.

With acrobatic grace, she easily caught his body before he hit the ground. She cradled him to her chest before she quickly jumped backwards and set him down by the others. She let her clawed hand cup his face affectionately before she turned back around to glare at the hanyou.

"Fine, we'll talk. Only if you promise to leave my friends alone."

Naraku nodded. "Good. Come along now." His red eyes focused on hers as he quietly led her deeper into the forest.

She grabbed Hiei's katana and tied the sash around her own waist before warily following him. Kagome knew she could be walking into a trap, he could easily kill her and take the shards. But seeing how he was trying to engage her into a talk, she didn't think that was his plan. For tonight at least.

After walking a few feet away from the camp, they finally stopped. Kagome watched his every move, her hand inching towards her only weapon.

Naraku smirked to himself at how he could make her so uncomfortable. But if he played his cards right, everything would change. He reached into his pelt and pulled out something.

Kagome tensed and placed her hand on the hilt of the katana. She relaxed slightly when she saw Kanna's mirror. It brought back memories of a few nights ago, when he was about to show her something.

Once again, her interest was peaked. Her thoughts of that same night he came to visit her once arose in her mind. What would he show her? She stared at the mirror and watched as it began to glow. Just to be sure, she put a barrier around her to ensure her safety. Having your soul ripped out from your body hurts like hell, and she did _not_ want to experience that again.

Her eyes were glued to the mirror as colors and shapes started to form. Voices were the first thing Kagome distinguished.

"Are you sure everyone's asleep?" A female voice asked, fear and insecurity evident in her voice.

"Yeah yeah, just chill." Kagome blinked. She knew that arrogant male voice and lingo. Staring harder at the mirror, the colors and shapes soon turned into a forest and two people. Her eyes widened in recognition as she watched what seemed like a movie being played in a mirror.

Her best friend, Sango, and her ex-crush Inuyasha were embracing each other under a full moon in the forest. Inuyasha was looking at Sango the way he did when she caught him with Kikyo. She felt a familiar jab of jealousy and betrayal stab at her heart. Confusion was etched in her features as she tried to understand what she was seeing.

"What trickery is this Naraku?" Her thoughts were racing a mile a minute. Is this real? If it is, how long had their relationship been going on? Why didn't they tell me? Do they not trust me enough?

Naraku smirked. He could feel the confusion coming off her in waves. She was still reluctant to see the truth. "This is no trick dear miko. Only the truth. It seems that this is a regular interaction with the two. I happened to spot them while scouting the area."

The day she would trust Naraku is the day she would dress up in a bunny suit and hop around Tokyo carrying a sign that would say, "I am the great Easter bunny. Bow down and kiss my furry ass."

She shook her head trying to clear her head of those weird thoughts. Never in a million years would Sango and Inuyasha hook up, right? Kagome watched as their lips were locked in a passionate kiss. Inuyasha raised a claw and pushed down the collar of Sango's kimono and started trailing kisses down her neck. Unable to look at the mirror anymore, she quickly averted her gaze and snorted. "Whatever Naraku. I don't believe you. If you honestly think I would fall for such a stupid illusion, then you've underestimated me."

Naraku chuckled as the mirror cleared. "No, you have it wrong. Why would I lie about something like this? If you truly do not believe me, look for a mark on the exterminator's neck. There should be two puncture marks that were produced from fangs. If you do not believe me after seeing the clear and obvious proof, then I surely misjudged your intelligence."

With an angry growl, she leaped at him and attempted to swipe him with her sharp claws, only to be scratching air.

Turning around, she saw the spider hanyou was crouching a few feet away from her. She could see the smirk on his face and flexed her claws. With all the pain and confusion going through her, she wanted nothing more then to wipe off that damn smirk off his face and have him admit that what she saw was a lie.

His chuckle rang through the air as the saimyousho carried him into the air like last time. "Ah, what loyal and honest friends you have. Tell me, can you trust them even though they've kept such a big secret from you?"

Before she could do anything, he disappeared into the night sky. Even after he was long gone, she didn't do anything but glare at the sky. Why her? Why did all these little dramatic problems have to be related to her in one way or another?

Growling once more, Kagome quickly tore her eyes from the sky and proceeded back towards the camp. She took a glance at everyone to make sure they were okay. Her eyes lingered longer on Inuyasha and Sango. Naraku's earlier words came back to her, whispering to her in the back of her mind.

"_If you truly do not believe me, look for a mark on the exterminator's neck." _

She swallowed a lump in her throat. Would she betray the trust she had in her friend and look at her neck? Or would she turn the other way and forget about what Naraku said. Her hands balled and unballed nervously.

Walking over to Sango, she came to a decision. She wouldn't believe in what Naraku said, she would only be checking to prove him wrong. To prove to him that she was a trustworthy friend and would tell her if some big affair was going on between her and their leader.

Her fingers lightly clamped on the smooth material, and pulled it gently down till it exposed her bare shoulder.

"_There should be two puncture marks that were produced from fangs."_

Kagome gasped as she covered her mouth. There, like Naraku said, was a bite mark in between the place on her shoulder and neck. She felt sick. '_So what he said was actually true.'_

Tears welled up in her eyes as the realization hit her head on. It wasn't really about _who_ Sango chose to be with, it was the fact that she hadn't trust her with her secret. Okay, fine, so she had been in love with Inuyasha for years and told Sango about it. But she thought she made it clear that she would understand to anything she told her, even something like this.

Wet tears fell down her face, as she made no move to remove them. Kagome felt betrayed. "So this is the person Inuyasha dumped Kikyo and I for." She murmured.

All the trust that had developed between all of them had cracked.

-----

Naraku smirked into the night air as he looked into Kanna's mirror and saw Kagome's blank expression. Breaking the bond between them was easier then he thought it would be.

He chucked as a cruel smile spread across his face. Things were going his way, and soon he would have the shikon no tama and the beautiful miko in his hands.

-----

Hiei's eyes snapped open immediately as he quickly sat up from his position in the tree. It wasn't like him to sleep this much, especially around people he didn't really trust. He was always on guard and kept a wary eye on everyone. Looking at the sky, he noted the sun was already rising.

A stir of movement made him tense till he saw whom it was. Kagome was lying on his lap curled in a ball asleep, while half way in her animal form. Her claws were still out and a fang glinted from her bottom lip.

It was weird since he didn't remember sensing her jump up in the tree with him. He didn't even know when she got there! His mind was in a jumble. Some things just didn't seem right. Looking down he saw the others were still peacefully sleeping.

As he stretched a little bit without disturbing Kagome, he felt a sharp stab in his side. Lifting his black shirt, he saw two huge red marks on his sides. Something had grabbed him last night, and hard. He felt faint traces of a demonic aura but dismissed it since the feudal era was crawling with youkai.

Letting go of his shirt, he immediately started gently prodding Kagome for any injuries. He was happy to know that she wasn't the least bit hurt. So many questions arose from his mind. How did those marks get there? How did someone get past his defenses? And why did they want to attack him?

He also noticed that his katana was in a different position than it was the previous night. He may not be an animal youkai, but his senses were strong enough to tell him that Kagome had handled it.

Hiei was a little peeved about her touching his stuff. No one, and I mean no one, ever touches his katana. It's the only material thing he owned (besides clothes). Of course he wouldn't use it against her, but was still a little angry that she would touch his things without asking. He couldn't hide his curiosity as to why she would even need a weapon.

What also concerned him was the fact that she didn't wake him up for their training. He knew she was very dedicated to growing strong and being able to fend for her self against the enemies. Though she never told him out loud, he understood that she didn't like having to be saved every time they engaged in a fight against youkai.

Things weren't adding up and he didn't like being left out of the loop. Checking once more to see that Kagome was asleep, he quietly slipped of his bandana. His jagan slowly opened and allowed him to see into the other's minds.

With a disappointed frown, he covered his jagan and crossed his arms. After looking through their memories, he found out that no one had gotten up during the night. Not even the inu hanyou or the exterminator had gone to escape to the forest and mate.

He would have tried looking through Kagome's, but her strong mental abilities stopped him from doing so. With a blank expression, he lightly reached into Kagome's shirt and started playing with the pebble he gave her.

So much has happened ever since he met this special miko; and he wasn't sure if he liked all of the results. For one thing, he now had a weakness. Of course Kagome had grown in power since they had first met, but he still wasn't confident enough to know she would be able to handle a tough enemy from his past that could possibly come after her in revenge when they go back to the future. She wasn't weak per say, actually quite the opposite, it's just she couldn't control her powers fully and who knows what would happen if she needed to and couldn't?

By all means, that didn't mean he was going to leave her and think of her as a thorn in his side; instead he would just have to be more cautious and watch over her like he does with Yukina.

With a new resolve, Hiei silently vowed to himself to protect Kagome from any danger that she couldn't handle herself and to make sure no one would ever hurt her.

Authors note: Just a little warning for the future. I dunnoe if there's going to be some big battle scene, in other words, Naraku might die in a non-significant way so be prepared! R&R!


	10. Acceptance

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or Yu Yu Hakusho

Reviewer response

Hiei's cute girl- wow… as much as I hate Naraku, I don't want to be that cruel to him. But I promise he will die, by who's hand? I do not know. /

Shadow miko- I'll try to update asap but I have this huge world civ project… so YARG! Hm.. a sequel… currently I am out of ideas but maybe there might be one!

Ch.10

When everyone woke up, Kagome was sure to watch everyone carefully to make sure Naraku didn't put anything else in the sleeping powder. She sighed happily when they all acted normal and started their day like usual.

Hiei had been a little angry when he found out she had touched his katana, but didn't punish her. Instead he kept a possessive eye on her. She had wondered what exactly brought on his strange behavior but didn't press it. Besides, that weird glint in his eye and his stiff posture made her shut her mouth unless she wanted to face his wrath.

As soon as Inuyasha woke up, he instantly caught the faint smell of Naraku around the area, which got him ranting and all riled up. He didn't shut up until Sango, Miroku, and Hiei all quieted him with their weapons.

'_It's a good thing I washed Naraku's scent off me…'_ she thought with a sweat drop as she watched everyone beat the crap out of the cursing inu hanyou. Kagome would have washed Hiei too, but knew that he would never be close enough to Inuyasha for him to smell it. And since his sense of smell wasn't as strong as Inuyasha's, she also knew that he wouldn't be able to detect the fading scent.

Plus the idea of his muscular nude body in her arms with water dripping off of it seductively was too much for her to bear.

After everyone had eaten breakfast, they set out on following yet another rumor. All morning they had questioned people in a village that the rumor was said to come from, but ended up finding nothing.

Breathing in the fresh air, Kagome looked out at the beautiful scenery from a huge rock on the end of a narrow path on a mountain. The place reminded her of when Kouga had first kidnapped her by using a wall of wolves to block Inuyasha from saving her.

Down below were acres after acres of forests, which set a tone of peacefulness. _'Everything is so calm here,_' Kagome thought to herself as she breathed in the fresh air. The cliff was so tall it almost looked like you could touch the sky when standing on the top.

Glancing behind her, she saw her friends eating the snacks she brought back from her time on a blanket. It was about mid afternoon and they had stopped for a break after walking for so long.

Kagome's gaze lingered on Sango and Inuyasha. It was a major shock to find out what she did the night before, and still couldn't get over the fact that they were mates. Looking at the secret couple now, one would never suspect them of being together. Sango was talking to Miroku and Inuyasha was off to the side focusing only on his potato chips and nothing else.

They looked and acted normal but she knew the truth. _'I can't help but wonder how long it's been going on.'_ She thought with a wistful sigh. Sitting down on the huge boulder, she turned her back against the group and started to drink out of her water bottle. Things were really starting to stress her out and she didn't know if she had the strength and will power to deal with it all.

Her major priority (along with everyone else's) was to find Naraku. She knew he wouldn't have showed her all that he did without wanting something in return. _'Grr, he's so sneaky. Just like a spider._' She thought with a low growl.

She nearly jumped out of her skin when something poked her in the middle of her spine, making her back straighten automatically. Turning around, she met Hiei's large crimson eyes. She blinked a few times when suddenly he dangled something in front of her face.

Opening her hands, he dropped the object, and she raised her them to her eyes to get a better look. Inside her hands was a beautiful dark blue butterfly with black spots and stripes that made intricate designs on its wings. She noticed that Hiei was careful enough to lightly pick the insect up with the pads of his fingers so he wouldn't take off the powder on it's wings that it needs for flying.

Smiling, she watched the butterfly as it started to walk on along her hands until it found a resting spot on her thumb. "It's beautiful Hiei," she said happily as she stood up to peck him lightly on the cheek.

He blushed lightly before continuing to watch her. Seeing her gentle expression of happiness on her face while looking at the butterfly reminded him of Yukina. Both were innocent and attracted the gentlest of creatures. Letting his emotions control his actions for once, he gently cupped her face and kissed her full on the lips. Feeling his soft lips on her own, Kagome couldn't help but instantly forget about the butterfly as it fluttered off her hand.

Enjoying the chaste kiss, she withdrew from him, and smiled when she saw the butterfly resting on his shirt. She couldn't help but notice that the butterfly and Hiei both complemented each other. Though the winged creatures usually stood for purity, the dark colors of its wings clashed against their original meaning and blended perfectly with the dark shades that made up Hiei.

Noticing that Kagome as staring, he followed her gaze until he saw the insect lazily flapping its wings every so often on his chest. With a light blow, the butterfly flew off and into the distance.

They both silently watched it until it was out of sight. Turning her head back, Kagome walked back to the rock and sat down.

Hiei looked at her with an emotionless face. Her movements had been a little less enthusiastic than usual, and she looked really down earlier in the morning. He couldn't help but notice the way she slyly took glances at Inuyasha every so often.

He felt a pang in his heart. Was it jealousy? His eyes focused on her soft face, as his thoughts continued to run ramped in his head. Hiei knew that Kagome's feelings for Inuyasha had changed, but he couldn't help but question her sometimes. _'Stupid feelings… they make me feel insecure.' _

Anger suddenly filled his being as he had the urge to kill something. Preferably, something with silver hair and doggy ears. Just as he was about to leave to group and enjoy a nice fight, he noticed a lone tear run down her face. His head tilted a bit curiously as he wondered what had suddenly brought on the change of moods.

Walking over to her, he awkwardly put an arm around her shoulders as he moved to sit down next to her on the boulder. He usually would have been more concerned about the others watching, but knew they were probably to busy socializing with one another to notice them.

Not being use to caring about someone, Hiei didn't know what to do. When he felt Kagome cuddle more into his embrace, he gained a little confidence. "…What's wrong." He demanded more than asked. It wasn't the gentlest way of asking but hey, it was better than nothing.

She took a deep breath before replying. "I was just wondering, is it strength and looks that a youkai looks for in a mate?"

Hiei blinked a few times, taken back by the question. He looked at her curiously as he silently wondered who she was thinking about; them or Inuyasha. "It usually depends on the youkai, but usually one looks for a mate with strength and good characteristics that could be passed on to their offspring. Good looks could just be an added bonus. Isn't that what you ningen's look for when you "court" each other?"

Kagome nodded silently as she took in his words. Though she was with Hiei, literally in his arms, her thoughts kept straying back to Inuyasha. _'Is that why he rejected Kikyo and me? Because I'm not strong enough and Kikyo's dead?' _She wondered dejectedly. _'But then again, Sango is very strong and can hold herself in battle. Plus, she's good with children.' _She thought as she had a flashback of Sango talking affectionately about her brother, Kohaku.

Moaning in despair, she hid her face into Hiei's neck. Her own thoughts were betraying her and making her feel worse instead of better. But as they say, the truth hurts.

"Are… you feeling regrets about the courtship?" Hiei asked delicately. With her depressed mood and sudden questions about youkai's mating habits, there was only so much he could assume was wrong with her. And that was either A. She didn't want to be his mate anymore B. She still has feelings for Inuyasha or C. She doubted her own abilities to impress the opposite sex. With a tense arm around her, he hoped that if anything the answer would be C.

Kagome immediately withdrew her face from his neck and stared at Hiei with her mouth agape. _'Is that what he really thinks?' _Tilting her head to the side, she gasped when she realized just what her body language was saying in response to her previous question.

"No no no! I was just wondering that's all! You know, curiosity." She just couldn't bear to lose another boyfriend in her life. Wrapping her arms around his small midsection, she hugged him affectionately. When she felt his arms hesitantly wrap around her own body, she realized just how unfamiliar Hiei was with these types of situations as well as herself.

Leaning his cheek on the crown of her head, Hiei mentally sighed contently. He was beyond relieved that he had misunderstood her. There was no way he was going to let her go after he had allowed himself to uncharacteristically and emotionally attach himself to her, if only a little bit.

Shifting her body around, she kept squirming until she had settled herself on his lap. Sighing happily, Kagome laid back against his firm chest and let the warm sun rays slowly lull her to sleep. She would think about everything later, besides, she needed sleep seeing as she received none last night. Yawning, she covered her mouth before letting her eyes drift close.

Hugging her to him, Hiei cradled her in his arms when he had heard her breathing slow down showing him that she was asleep. He absentmindedly played with the ends of her hair as he gazed out at the vast countryside. There was a lot to do once this mission was over, and if anything he wanted to finish it as soon as possible.

Not being able to watch over Yukina whenever he pleased did not sit well with him, and the fact that Kagome was always in danger while in this era didn't help calm his nerves either.

Another thought plagued him. He was still quite curious to know what exactly happened the previous night. Besides the fact that Kagome was omitting unusual behavior, the scent of Naraku that Inuyasha caught around the camp was enough to further tempt his suspicions.

If indeed the vile hanyou had come, why was Kagome the only one who fought him? Why were they all untouched (besides the red marks on his body), and why did he leave the shikon no tama in her hands?

One of the reasons he approached her a few minutes ago was to find the answers to all his questions. Looking down at the sleeping girl, he realized he would have to wait yet again for the answers.

-----

When Kagome woke up from her little nap, she was surprised to see Inuyasha in a foul mood. Of course he was in a bad mood to begin with, but now it seemed worse. And if anything, she suspected the cause was Hiei.

Guessing by the way he would glare at the smaller youkai every now and then, she guessed Hiei was the one to carry her instead of the usual hanyou.

'_Is that what was bothering him?'_ Sitting down in the steaming hot spring, she let out a tired sigh. The long day was over and they hadn't even found one shard.

Sango looked at her friend curiously. "Tired?"

Kagome nodded as she pulled a hair tie off of her wrist and bundled her hair on top of her head. "Yeah, all that walking and not a shard in our possession. I'm beginning to think what we're doing is impossible." Shaking her head sadly, she turned into her animal form and started cleaning her long nails.

"I didn't think you would be the one to say that. Besides, I thought Inuyasha had proved a lot of times that nothing's impossible." With a small smile, she started playing with one of her long strands of hair.

While carefully washing her ears, Kagome couldn't help but notice that Sango kept a piece of wet hair where Inuyasha's mark laid. Leaning back to look at the stars, she kept absentmindedly massaging her ears. _'Come to think of it, I've never really noticed that she hid that part of her neck every time we bathed.' _

She frowned as her mood suddenly changed once again. _'Then again, I never looked there intentionally…' _she thought dully. "Hey Sango-chan…"

"Hm?"

"…You would tell me if you started taking an interest in someone right?"

Startled by the nonchalant question, Sango abruptly turned around and faced the other raven-haired girl. _'This is the 3rd time she's asked me a question like that.' _

Throughout the whole day, Kagome had been dropping hints and asking her random questions that had to do with her interest in the opposite sex. _'It's too much of a coincidence for me not to notice.' _She thought as she continued to watch her friend distractedly wash herself, obviously waiting for her answer.

"Well of course, but we all need to keep some stuff to ourselves to ensure our privacy, ne?"

Kagome winced slightly at the undertone. Guilt suddenly weighed down on her shoulders as she washed off the soapy bubbles on her arms. She was doing the same thing Sango and Inuyasha are doing, she is hiding a relationship. _'Only I'm not mated to Hiei… yet anyways.' _She thought with a small blush.

Standing up, Sango wringed out her hair. "What about you Kagome? I noticed that Hiei has been paying more attention to you. I also noticed that you don't reject his discreet advances either." She said with a smile. At least she was getting over Inuyasha.

Kagome blushed at the accusation. "Heh, to tell you the truth… I am starting to like him. I mean I've always needed some sort of companionship from someone from my time and he understands me in some ways that others can't."

Not fitting in was one thing that they both had a common base on. Kagome didn't really know where her place was; was it in the past, or the present? While Hiei's heritage instantly had people belittling him and judging him the moment they learned about his background.

Her eyes softened as she thought about the picture of Hiei in her room back in the future. Hiei was one complicated youkai. On his face he showed no emotions, and the only time you could really see what he was thinking and feeling was by looking into his eyes. Even then, sometimes they would be closed off and looked cold and empty.

Though deep down, she knew that he just wanted someone to protect. She could tell when he told her about his sister one night after training. When he mentioned her, she was surprised to see his body relax and he almost looked happy. But before she could look into it some more, his face and body language became stiff and distant like usual.

Sango raised an eyebrow curiously. "Really? I would have never thought that you would go for anyone that has a demeanor similar to Inuyasha's older brother, Sesshomaru."

Kagome shrugged with a huge grin on her face. "You can't choose who you fall for." Unraveling her hair from her tie, she dunked her head underwater and proceeded to wash her hair.

Nodding, Sango took those words seriously as she distractedly climbed out of the hot spring and wrapped a towel around her body. _'You have no idea…' _

--With the boys--

Inuyasha eyed the slumbering youkai in the tree. He had always had his suspicious of him from the start, and now he was even more on edge when he had taken the initiative to carry Kagome for the rest of the day.

Even though his romantic feelings for Kagome had faded, Inuyasha still felt it was his job to protect her from any harm. Just like it had been for the past year.

But then the spiky haired youkai came into the picture and was starting to steal her away from him. Kagome was the first person to stay by him, even when things got rough, and she always had her faith in him. There was no way in hell that he would let some loner like Hiei take her away from him while he still had his duty to protect her.

"Oi." He called out as he stood underneath the tree the very youkai that was plaguing his mind was sleeping in.

His ear twitched in annoyance when he didn't stir. "Oi! I'm talking you!"

Hiei opened one crimson eye and started at the inu hanyou below before closing it again. He wasn't worth his time.

Inuyasha's eye twitched before exploding with anger. "Why you-!" Taking out his tetsuaiga, he had the full intention of chopping the tree down so he could beat the chibi youkai to a bloody pulp.

As calm as ever, Miroku silently walked behind the fuming hanyou before hitting him in the base of the skull with his staff, rendering him unconscious.

"Che. What a fool." Hiei stated as he heard the loud thud of Inuyasha's body falling onto the ground.

Miroku just silently observed the strange enigma that was Hiei. Like everyone else in the group, he had his share of trying to open up the fire youkai with no luck. Learning about his dangerous and unpredictable temper, he decided to respect his space and left him alone.

But like Inuyasha, he had begun to notice the interest in Kagome growing rapidly in his dark crimson eyes. He wasn't sure if his intentions were pure or not, but he decided to find out. The whole inu tachi were like a strange family, and if anything, they all watched each other's back.

Clearing his throat, he walked closer to the tree, staff jingling loudly to gain Hiei's attention. Cracking both eyes open, he lazily watched as the monk continued to venture towards him.

"You know, Inuyasha is known for his short temper and sudden outbursts. If anything, you shouldn't set him off on purpose. It would give everyone head aches." He said with a chuckle.

Hiei 'hned' softly. The silvery-headed youkai was just like a certain detective back home. Both were loud, rude, and yet very noble in their own ways. He almost snorted at their similarities, it was almost like they were one the same. But then again, there were a lot of differences as well.

"He should learn to control his emotions if it causes everyone such trouble. It could also prove fatal in a serious battle."

Miroku nodded as he sat down cross-legged with his back against the tree Hiei was in. "Of course, but even with his foolish actions, he always manages to come out the winner. It's weird how things work out, but I guess Inuyasha is a living, breathing miracle." Who knows how many times Inuyasha had been pierced in the stomach because he was so reckless in a fight?

"But being that irresponsible could put others lives in danger." Hiei stated as he closed his eyes and willed his body to relax once more.

Laying his staff across his legs, he crossed his arms over his chest and sighed. "We all know that, but all of us have faith in him. No matter what the situation, he always manages to save Kagome in time from danger."

He noticed with satisfaction when Hiei's body shifted a little when he mentioned Kagome's name.

"Who was talking specifically about the onna? Her skills have improved greatly since the first time I met her, so she doesn't need much protecting."

Miroku hid a smile behind his gloved hand. "Yes yes, Kagome-sama has changed greatly. She has become stronger over the year in both strength and the heart. No matter what happens, she never lets despair consume her, even when she knows things are happening behind her back. But of course she's been through worse, and has always remained faithful to her friends. Just as we are to her."

Hiei silently listened to the monk talk. It was obvious that he knew of the exterminators and inu hanyou's relationship. He assumed the only one who didn't know was Kagome, and of course the little kit. But then again, his nose should have told him otherwise.

"Why are you telling me this?" He asked silently, wondering what his ulterior motive was.

Getting up, Miroku stretched as his mischievous lavender eye's twinkled. "Because if something bad were to happen to her, the person at fault would have the face the wrath of all five of us."

Sighing happily, the monk continued to walk past the tree and closer to where he felt steam coming from. "Now if you excuse me, I'll be going for a walk." Smiling, he began walking with ninja feet towards the hot spring.

In less then a second, he was against a tree, tied tightly with string.

"You will stay here." Hiei said from his spot in the tree, looking like he had never once moved from his place.

Miroku pouted and tried to get comfortable against the bark of the tree. "Of course, no one trusts the innocent follower of Buddha…"

Hiei rolled his eyes. He couldn't believe this scheming pervert was someone who had just threatened to beat him up if he treated Kagome badly.

A high-pitched scream and the sound of tree trunks falling had alerted both males. In a flash Hiei had jumped from the tree, cut Miroku's ropes, and sped off towards the hot springs where the commotion was coming from.

Grabbing his staff, Miroku hit Inuyasha on the head once more.

Groaning, he sat up and rubbed his head. "What the hell was that for!"

"No time to talk! The girls are in trouble!" Running ahead, he knew Inuyasha would follow.

Gripping his fallen sword, Inuyasha quickly transformed it. His ears twitched when he head the sound of twigs snapping behind him. Turning around with his sword poised, he relaxed when he realized it was only Kirara with Shippo on her back.

"What's going on? I heard a scream that sounded like Kagome." The kit asked, fearful for his friends.

Inuyasha just grunted. "I don't know, but I smell the stench of Naraku. Kirara, guard Shippo and be careful."

The large cat meowed before taking air so she could observe the fight from an aerial view.

Taking one last glance at Kirara, Inuyasha took off head speed towards the hot springs, chopping anything that got in his way.

-----

Jumping over the hot water, he landed roughly on the other side of the bank. He growled as he held his large sword out in front of him. "Let them go, Naraku!"

The spider youkai had many tentacles out and had two of them wrapped around the bodies of Sango and Kagome. Miroku and Hiei were fighting against his striking tentacles while trying to avoid getting hit.

His amber eyes widened in surprise when he saw fuzzy ears and long nails on Kagome but pushed away his questions for later. Right now he had to focus on defeating Naraku.

"Move out of the way!" When he was sure the others had gotten his hint, Inuyasha made sure both girls were out of his range when he unleashed his attack. "Kaze no kizu!" he screamed as his knife shaped energy was released and hit Naraku square in the chest.

He growled when he heard the longhaired youkai laugh before pulling himself together. "Kuso!" He growled when he realized his attack was useless.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome cried. As she struggled to get out of Naraku's vice like grip. "The shards are in chest!" Clawing at the thing that held her captive, she stopped when she realized Naraku's neck wasn't glowing very brightly. _'Wait a second… where are the rest of the shards!'_

She gasped when she found the tentacles around her body sliced in half, but relaxed when she saw Hiei's familiar face. Blushing crimson, she realized she was nude in his arms.

When Naraku had attacked out of nowhere, she didn't have enough time to cover her body and was grossed out when she felt his tentacles touch her bare skin. But luckily, Sango was already changed and had her weapons close by.

"Go get your weapon. It's time to test out what you learned." He said before rubbing her cheek affectionately with his thumb. In a flash he disappeared and continued to dismember Naraku's many appendages.

Rushing to her stuff near the bushes, she quickly pulled on her clothes before grabbing her bow and arrow. Nocking it, she quickly aimed for his chest where the shards glowed brightly. She frowned when a tentacle easily knocked it away as if it were nothing.

"New plan," she said as started running full speed towards the large octopus wannabe. Tentacles came flying towards her at every angle, and with her new acquired speed she easily dodged them or disintegrated them with her arrows. _'I'll have to thank Hiei for the training later'_ she reminded herself as she jumped into the air.

Arrow pointed and ready, she let it loose as it cut through the air with a great force. This time, she had added more energy into it and hoped it would do some damage.

And indeed it did, half his body was purified and it slowly began to re-grow. With a sudden rush, everyone started attacking while he was still recuperating.

Sango was using her hiraikotsu, Miroku was using ofuda's and his staff, Inuyasha was unleashing his kaze no kizu's, and Hiei was using an attack she had never seen him use. His sword was covered in black flames and it seemed very effective as he managed to slice and dice with more success then before.

It started to look like they had gained the upper hand until Naraku revealed another clone. The whole group was shocked and confused. Were they all puppets?

The fight became even more intense as more and more tentacles appeared. Using her hiraikotsu and katana when needed, Sango had cut through many tentacles. A sudden shout caught her attention, and as soon as she turned her head, a tentacle was wrapped tightly around her body making her drop her weapons.

She winced as she felt the air get squeeze out of her and tried in vain to get free. Hearing a roar, she was relieved to see her old time friend Kirara help her out. Using her claws and giant teeth, the huge cat had managed to cut her friend free until she caught off guard and hit with some wind blades by Kagura.

"I'll help you Kirara! Fox fire!" Shippo cried as he patted the fallen fire cat.

Kagura easily put out the fire with her fan. "Now to take care for the annoyance." Holding her fan up, she made a swift motion with her arm and sent Shippo flying into a tree trunk. She smirked with satisfaction when she saw blood trickle down from his head.

"Shippo!" Kagome cried from her place in the battle. She gasped and on reflex put up her bow for a shield to block an oncoming tentacle.

Grinding his teeth, Inuyasha continued to furiously fight his way through many of Naraku's attacks. He growled loudly when he noticed Kagura and Kanna appear by his side. "Great, he brought friends." This was starting to be the ultimate fight ever fought by the inu tachi, and a true challenge in its self.

Looking to his side, he saw the whole group fighting. Hiei was working fast against Kagura and had managed to get a fatal blow on her back. All it would take was another hit and she would be out.

Miroku was off to the side fighting Kanna and her mirror, using his ofuda's to stop the mirror from slowly sucking his soul. In one desperate attempt, he sucked the attachment up by using his kazanaa. Unfortunately for him, he had sucked up some of the poisonous insects as well.

Kagome and Sango, along with Inuyasha, were fighting Naraku directly, trying to get through the ever-growing tentacles. Using his sword, he managed to slice his way through so he could get closer to the two.

His eyes widened when the second attachment suddenly changed forms and became a large giant spider. Sticky web came out of his mouth and had managed to catch Sango and Kagome.

Like the time they fought the moth youkai, both girls were trapped in a cocoon of webbing and would loose oxygen if they stayed inside.

Inuyasha panicked as he tried his kaze no kizu and saw it being sucked in by the webbing, clearly unaffected. Miroku had managed to get to his side as he watched Naraku slowly pull the girls in. Flicking blood off his katana Hiei appeared by Inuyasha as his battle aura glowed furiously.

Inside the cocoon, both girls struggled to get free. Opening the armor on her shoulder plate, Sango put on her poison gas mask and jammed some poison into the webbing with the hilt of her katana. She shook her head dejectedly as the webbing melted, then quickly patched it self up. It seemed like escaping was futile.

In the other cocoon, Kagome was swiping the sides with her sharp claws. Growling, she gathered her energy into her hands and shot it through the side. She smiled when she saw the outside but as soon as she reached for it, it re-grew. As much as she hated to admit it, she didn't have enough energy to disintegrate the whole thing, so she had to put her fate in the guy's hands.

"Stop playing dirty tricks and let them go you bastard!" Inuyasha growled as he got his kaze no kizu ready. Even if the attack didn't work, the others could still use the distraction to their advantage.

He looked to his side and saw Miroku panting hard as sweat started to build on his forehead. Having sacrificed himself in a fight before, Inuyasha knew the monk was too stubborn to die over some measly poison. And though he was half youkai, he knew that ningen bodies had a way to build an immune to poisons they have already been exposed to before.

Looking to his other side, he saw Hiei barely unscathed. There were only a few cuts here and there from Kagura, but no major damage. His face was neutral looking but his eyes burned furiously. He smirked when he realized that this guy would take better care of Kagome more than he ever could.

Facing the huge spider once more, he sized him up. Kagome had said earlier that there were shards in the first detachments body. The only chance he would have of winning this battle would be to get those shards.

Running straight for the spider, he easily dodged the huge legs and kicked off the body and headed straight for the first detachment. Aiming straight for the chest, he laughed victoriously as the body fell in half with a single strike.

Before the body could pull itself together, Inuyasha quickly grabbed the shards and put them in his kimono. "Looks like you lost something, Naraku."

Naraku then laughed. "You think you have defeated me?" the giant spider taunted as all 8 blood red eyes focused on Inuyasha. "You don't even have half the shards that I possess, and besides that I have your two friends in my possession."

Suddenly tentacles came out of the huge spider body and grabbed the remains of his first detachment. They all watched in shock as he reattached it back to himself, and start to change his form again.

This time, he had the body of a spider but from the waist up, his human form was placed on the body where the head would be. Grabbing the two cocoons, he smiled to reveal large teeth that oozed poison. "I'm feeling generous today, so I'll give you a choice. One of these two girls will live, and it's your choice to choose. So who will it be, Inuyasha? Your mate? Or your shard detector?"

Inuyasha glared as his grip on his sword tightened. What a predicament they were in!

Author's notes: Finally! I updated! Aren't you all proud of me! I must admit, I wasn't planning to make this a cliffe but since I didn't want this chapter too long… I had to cut it off. Please don't get mad at me if I don't update soon enough, cuz right now I'm trying to figure out who should kill Naraku. Hiei or Kagome? R&R!


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